


War of the Spark Forsaken: Decidedly Different Edition

by Bace_Jeleren



Category: Magic: The Gathering (Card Game)
Genre: Canon Rewrite, F/F, F/M, Fire Nic Kelman, Gen, M/M, Post-War of the Spark, War of the Spark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 127,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22550353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bace_Jeleren/pseuds/Bace_Jeleren
Summary: It is no secret that War of the Spark Forsaken has left a deep scar within the Magic Story. Perhaps you simply heard about the atrocities within, or maybe you were one of the ill-fated few who went ahead and read it, but for any of you who seek some sort of solace, this is a retelling that aims to try and make amends for what has been damaged. This work in no way claims to be better that the original, just another take on a story that left people feeling hurt and betrayed. It is, as the title suggests, decidedly different.
Relationships: Chandra Nalaar/Nissa Revane, Jace Beleren/Vraska, Tomik Vrona/Ral Zarek
Comments: 44
Kudos: 127





	1. Chapter 1

** The Beginning of the End **

**Kaya**

The pit in her stomach felt almost as deep as the pit that had been dug to make room for the slowly-descending coffin. It hadn't been the first she had stared down into, watching as the dead were lowered, one by one, into the depths of the Ravnican soil, but it appeared to, finally, be the last. Kaya felt, along with every other emotion that churned her insides like a stormy sea, a small twinge of relief that the task was finally complete. Her usual modus oprandi had her dealing with the dead plenty, but that was normally after they had long-since vacated their still, cold bodies, left to decay; dealing with corpses themselves was a whole other ordeal.

The final coffin belonged to a planeswalker, like her, by the name of Dack Fayden. She hardly knew him- hell, she hardly knew any of the planeswalkers, living or dead, who she had met during Nicol Bolas' onslaught- but she at least knew he had returned to try and be a hero, and had been dealt a cruel end as a result. He could have escaped, like the demon planeswalker Ob Nixilis who he had joined in traveling to the plane of Amonkhet, or Tezzeret, the underling of Bolas who they had gone to face, but even so, Dack threw away the opportunity in order to try and do one, last, act of good- even though, at the time, he hadn't even known it would be.

That seemed to be a common thread being spun from Nicol Bolas' war: heroes meeting their demise at the hands of trying to do what was right for the people of Ravnica- for the multiverse... for Liliana Vess...

Kaya sighed, the burden of caring about people she hardly had been given the luxury to properly even meet feeling almost as heavy as the thousands of debtor contracts that her weary soul had taken on when she had been made the Orzhov Syndicate guildmaster. Everything seemed to be dragging her down, just like Dack Fayden's coffin being lowered into its pit, and just like a corpse shut tightly inside its wooden box, it felt like there was no escape.

Gideon Jura and Liliana Vess had been little more than strangers to her- and the later had been on the opposing side- but baring witness to what had befallen the both of them still managed to leave an impact on her. Gideon, the just and kind leader of the Gatewatch as far as Kaya had gleaned, had given his life so that Liliana Vess, traitor to all of Ravnica and the planeswalkers trapped within it, could strike down Nicol Bolas. Even then, as Kaya wiped dirt from her hands and bid her fellow grave-diggers farewell, she wondered if her mouth was still hanging open, permanently, from the shock of it all.

All around her, as she made her way through the partially-decimated streets, Kaya could hear the uproarious sounds of celebration (among those being the clear and obvious, wild shrieking of Rakdos and his cult of clowns) mixed with the somber, softer sounds of mourning. From every angle there were contrasting echoes of joy and sorrow, almost as if the plane itself wasn't quite sure how to feel. Kaya, especially, wasn't sure how to feel. Should she be happy she had survived against the terrifying, overwhelming odds, or should she cry over the loss of life, and shed a tear for every grave she had dug? She simultaneously wanted to do both, and also neither. Instead, she simply took in the tonally mixed cacophony all around her, positive that she was, at least, thoroughly exhausted.

A small sliver of joy outweighed her sadness, however, as she recognized two familiar faces in the crowd, and it was enough to motivate her to move at a pace faster than a foot-dragging crawl. While the Gatewatch, and those associated with them, had been beacons during what many were beginning to dub the "War of the Spark", Kaya had put a lot of her faith into two others who had stood by her all throughout the chaos: Teyo and Rat, probably the only two people in this city of a plane who she could genuinely call her friends.

Teyo Verada was another planeswalker, dragged into the terrible conflict on Ravnica purely through the awful luck of sparking on just the wrong day. Still green, with his spark mere days old, and seemingly naturally naive, even though Kaya was hardly out of the woods of youth herself, simply being around him made her feel much older than she was. He had a long way to go, but he had a good head on his shoulders, and Kaya was certain he was on the right path to becoming a fine shieldmage, as well as a fine planeswalker.

Araithia Shokta (better known as Rat) on the other hand, was a resident of Ravnica- a scrappy, young girl who had lived a sad, forsaken life long before Kaya and the chaos of war had come into it. She was the unfortunate host to a magic (that might as well have been a curse) that rendered her invisible to everyone around her- or, at least, almost everyone, seeing as Kaya and Teyo could both see her just fine. Leading such a life, where even her own loved ones could hardly sense her presence, it should have caused her to grow cold. Truthfully, Kaya was surprised the girl had lived all sixteen years of her life in such a state, but not only had she lived, she had come out with an incredible amount of optimism that, even as she stood among the rubble of her once put-together plane (Kaya wouldn't dare call Ravnica a "peaceful" place, even before Nicol Bolas had shown up) she had remained her usual, upbeat self.

… Or, at least, she had been. As Kaya drew closer, she couldn't help but notice the forlorn look on the young girl's face, lips pressed together in a tight frown as her gaze was cast down at her feet. It was such a rare look for her, she began to think that, perhaps, she had the wrong people. Whatever her and Teyo were talking about, it wasn't settling with her in the slightest. However, as she looked up and caught sight of Kaya, her smile returned, although seeming a bit forced, even for Rat, and Teyo quickly did the same as he looked over his shoulder and flashed a nervous grin. Kaya had half the mind to pry, but her heaping levels of exhaustion made her decide otherwise. Whatever it was they had been discussing, she could have them explain after she had gotten a considerable amount of rest.

"Mistress Kaya!" Rat greeted her, the beginning of her words came out of her mouth dry and horse, giving her discomfort away- if Kaya hadn't already seen her sad expression mere moments before. "You're back!"

"How'd it go?" Teyo asked as she pushed past the last of the crowd to make it to them.

"About as well as digging graves can go: a lot of dead people, nobody really talked. My arms hurt, my back aches and all I want is a shower." Kaya sighed, trying to keep her explanation as light as she could. She didn't want to unload all of her feelings onto him, or either of them, about how surviving a war that had claimed more than a considerable amount of lives had left her numb, and that the weight and strain of being the guildmaster of the Orzhov was leaving her feeling permanently winded- she didn't even think she could planeswalk, if she wanted to.

"What's a shower?" Teyo bafflingly asked, but before Kaya could even begin to explain the concept of a shower, she caught a glimpse of more familiar faces in the crowd: the aforementioned Gatewatch entering the square to meet with the angel Aurelia, the guildmaster of the Boros Legion. Teyo and Rat followed suit, craning their necks to peak over the crowd before following after Kaya to join the group of planeswalkers.

Arriving just in time, Kaya watched as Aurelia handed over a familiar-looking breastplate to Chandra Nalaar, who cradled it in her arms like a precious babe. Even if Kaya didn't immediately recognize that particular piece of armor, the way they all seemed to react would have clued anyone in to the fact that it had belonged to the late Gideon Jura, a friend to them like Teyo and Rat were to her- maybe even more so. Most of them looked like they were holding back tears, and some, in the case of Chandra and Aurelia, saw no need to hold back and allowed a few tears to be shed.

Kaya could only wish she had the emotional capacity at that point to cry. Her heart ached at the sight, but as far as the external went, she could only look on as she drew close, a few of the motley crew giving her a slight nod of acknowledgment. She nodded back, not having any words to say that wouldn't ruin the mood, or otherwise feel incredibly out of place.

"We should bury this on Theros." Chandra suggested with a sniffle, her tears that rolled down her cheeks falling and splashing against the war-weathered armor, streaking down to reveal a tiny sliver of its original gleam.

"His home plane?" Nissa Revane, who stood directly behind her with her hands comfortingly on the girl's shoulders, asked. Her voice was gentle, almost like a summer breeze, which stood in stark contrast to her might she had displayed during battle. It almost seemed impossible that such a calm, reserved elf could have raised Vitu-Ghazi itself.

"Yeah... I think he'd like that." Chandra said with a nod, leaning her head to one side to slightly nuzzle against one of Nissa's hands.

"He'd also like for this to not be the end of the Gatewatch." Ajani Goldmane added, stepping into the forefront alongside them with a comforting smile and a warm, uplifting tone in his voice. "The threat of Bolas may have passed, but that doesn't mean our fight is over. There are still evils lurking in the multiverse, and if there's anything Gideon would want, it would be for us to continue to stand against that evil- _together_."

"We've all renewed our oaths, it would be a waste and a shame on Gideon's good name if we allowed ourselves to break apart after just one victory..." Jace Beleren agreed with a nod. His words hardly held a candle to Ajani's brave tone, and he seemed almost as tired as Kaya felt, but he managed to crack a smile despite it all as most of those in attendance nodded in agreement. Jaya and Karn, who took up the rear of the group seemed to at least aprove of the goings on, but it was clear they were separate from the group in a sense.

Watching the scene unfold, Kaya couldn't help but feel a warmth spring to life in her heart, and it wasn't just from the group's young pyromancer who seemed to give off a pleasant heat wherever she went. A small fire barely managed to light itself within her cold, tired heart, but it burned bright enough to light up the darkness that threatened to consume her. She wanted what they had: the ability to band together and look forward optimistically, and with purpose. All Kaya had to look forward to was being tied down to a guild she hardly had any stakes in, and behind her was her past as an assassin who killed for whoever paid the highest price, no matter their intentions. For once, she wanted to be a force for good, instead of a force of whatever convenienced her.

"If you wouldn't mind hearing one more, maybe I... could make an oath?"

The way everyone near-simultaneously looked to her, like she had jumped up and shouted "Boo", made Kaya doubt herself. Perhaps they didn't think she was qualified, or maybe they dreaded the thought of working with her full-time. Kaya went rigid under the combined weight of their surprised gazes- at least the debts she was shouldered with didn't stare at her like she was (ironically) a ghost haunting the square.

"I-I mean, I know I might not be the perfect person for the job... even I'll admit I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of..."

"Oh, it's not that- trust me when I say you're among company..." Jace paused to give a light chuckle as everyone responded in kind, as if they all were reflecting on things they had done in the past with nervous grins and rolling eyes. "...It's just a little unexpected. You're a guildmaster, after all, and of Orzhov at that, you seem to have enough on your plate as it is."

"Mistress Kaya can handle it! She could probably run circles around all of you, debts and all!" Rat proudly hyped her friend up, to which both Teyo and Kaya instinctively shushed her- only to realize a second later that there was a very real possibility no one else could see or hear her. Kaya began to give a quick motion on Rat's direction but gave up, deciding that trying to explain that there was a particularly boisterous girl among them that was rendered undetectable would absolutely curb the momentum she had been trying to build.

"Trust me, I've been a lot of things: an assassin for hire, a soldier in a war I didn't sign up for, a guildmaster of a guild that largely resents me... but never once have I been proud of the work I've done. All I've done, across the multiverse, is look out for only myself, no matter the cost, but then I met all of you and I've seen how much you're all willing to sacrifice for the greater good of other people..." Kaya paused, glancing down at the breastplate in Chandra's arms. "You all have a purpose greater than yourselves, and maybe that's what I've been wanting for so long. I want to serve something greater than just my own, selfish wants, and I want to do it on my own terms... I want to help."

 _If you'll have me, that is_ , she added in her thoughts as her gaze slowly sank down to the rubble-covered ground. Much to her surprise, she felt a warm hand rest on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Teferi, the wisest and oldest of the Gatewatch, standing beside her and giving her an approving smile. It was all enough to ease the tension she had built up as she struggled not to smile back at him.

"Wanting to serve a higher purpose is more than enough." He assured her. "It's why we all came together and made our own oaths. If you're heart's in the right place, which I'm sure it is, you're more than welcome to make your own."

"I think we can all agree that Gideon would also be more than happy to have you with us." Chandra added. "You've got 'Gatewatch material' written all over you."

"Oh, well... if you really do think I'm cut out for it-"

"Oh, get on with it, girl." She heard old lady Jaya mutter from the back. With a deep breath, Kaya did just that as she fixed her posture and raise her hand as proudly and with as much purpose as she could muster.

"For too long I've acted in service of myself, and in service of the highest bidder. Too often, I've done right by the wrong people, but I've seen here that so much can be accomplished by doing what is right, and I want to help in continuing to uphold that. In that regard, so that everyone gets what they truly deserve, I will keep watch."

Kaya couldn't help but crack a smile grin as she felt Teyo and Rat's hands press against her back as she spoke, encouraging her along. There was little doubt in her mind, with her friends standing at either side, and her comrades in arms welcoming her and her oath, that she was finally making a right decision.

"Pardon the interruption, but..." Nissa spoke up, looking between her friends and the breastplate Chandra held.

"Right, we should probably be on our way." Chandra agreed, the group's overall tone returning to being a solemn one. "...What's a funeral without a proper procession?" Her lip noticeably quivered.

Giving her friend a comforting nuzzle, Nissa knelt down onto the ground, her fingers tracing along the stones as her expression went thoughtful. As her eyebrows knitted together in hard concentration, a lively, green sprout pushed itself up between the cracks in the pavement and burst into life from between Nissa's fingertips. The resulting plant was a revitalizing shock of green in the otherwise dull square, with large, waxy leaves that Chandra plucked from the stem to wrap carefully around Gideon's remains.

"You're welcome to come with us, if you want, we're sure to draw a crowd." Jace offered.

Kaya was half a second away from agreeing to join the procession, but she caught a look from Aurelia she was certain was meant only for her. It was stern and commanding, even though her cheeks were red and her eyes were watery from crying. Something told her she was needed elsewhere.

"I'll catch up, there's... something I need to take care of, first." She quickly excused. "You all go on ahead."

Staying put, Kaya watched as Chandra, flanked by Jace and Nissa, began their slow walk through the crowd that parted for them, most of whom began to file out of the square behind the group. It was clear that, whether they were celebrating or mourning, the people of Ravnica loved and respected Gideon Jura for what he did. Citizens and guild members alike all walked together as one, giving the brave warrior who had died to save them the honor of a grand procession.

"You two can go ahead, too, if you want." Kaya offered to both Teyo and Rat.

"That's alright, I think there's more than enough people that we aren't going to be missed." Teyo said.

"Plus, who will stand along with you if we leave? I think you're going to need the company anyway." Rat added.

Before Kaya could ask what she meant by that, the mighty flap of wings overpowered whatever words she was about to say as a shadow fell over the now nearly-cleared-out square. In fact, the only people who were present, aside from a few, random stragglers, were notable members of the ten guilds, with the familiar faces of Ral and Vraska being among them. And, soon, Niv-Mizzet, the newly-minted Living Guildpact, touched down to join them as well, his presence seeming almost forcefully imposing. For all the times she had met him before, Niv was always putting on an air of being the best and brightest being in the room, but now it seemed especially offensive.

"Good, now that the riff-raff have made their exit, we can get down to business." He chuckled.

"What sort of business? I wasn't informed of any sort of guild meeting, what's going on?" Kaya asked, taking on a firm stance, refusing to bow even a little before the dragon, knowing it would give him the sickest of satisfactions to see her cower or even falter a little.

"You weren't informed because you stand among the accused." Lazav, guildmaster of House Dimir, spoke up, revealing himself as having been disguised as one of the common folk still standing around the square.

"The _accused_?" Kaya parroted as she looked around, noting Ral's discomfort and Vraska's obvious disdain.

"Those who helped to aid Nicol Bolas, of course." Niv-Mizzet explained, as if the fact were more than obvious. "Did you really think you would make it out of all this without being met with _any_ punishment?"

"After what we did to help you lot, you still choose to punish us, while the actual guilty are still out there, running free?" Vraska snapped, her voice icy and her gaze just as cold. The tendrils that snaked around her head bristled furiously.

"If you were as guilty as them, then we wouldn't be having this civil meeting, out in the open. We've taken your good deeds into account, but that doesn't outweigh what you did beforehand." Lavinia, standing in for the Azorius Senate, moved to sooth her anger, naturally in her own way of course- which was to say, it didn't seem to ease Vraska's irritation one iota. But, at the very least, she folded her arms and scowled instead of making any further comment.

"This meeting does also involve those you spoke of, though." Aurelia added. "Thousands of innocents lost their lives because of their actions in aiding Bolas, and while you three have made enough recompense, Tezzeret, Dovin Baan and Liliana Vess are beyond pardon."

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense!" Teyo, surprisingly, spoke up, withering slightly under the gaze of Niv-Mizzet, especially. "I mean... Liliana was the one who killed Bolas, wasn't she? That should be more than enough for you to consider pardoning her, at least!"

"Her undead army was responsible for a sheer loss of life. Even though Nicol Bolas was brought down by her, it was only after she had killed more than enough people to damn her multiple times over." Aurelia explained after the rest of the group met the boy's comment with only annoyed silence.

"With Vess and the other two being planeswalkers, we cannot bring them to justice ourselves..." Emmara Tandris, of the Selesnya Conclave, spoke up.

"Which makes it very convenient that Kaya, Vraska and I _are_." Ral finished, sounding and looking especially apprehensive.

"Very astute, Ral. In order to be completely pardoned for your crimes against Ravnica and its people, you three are to hunt down the remaining guilty parties, and do justice where we cannot." Niv said with a toothy sneer. "That being the case, it shall be your job to hunt down Dovin Baan. Vraska, you'll be tasked with tracking down Tezzeret, and Kaya will be responsible for locating Liliana Vess. Once you find them, it will be your job to deal out the only acceptable punishment for the likes of them: death."

The deep, dark pit in Kaya's stomach returned.


	2. Chapter 2

** Procession **

**Liliana Vess**

Dominaria wasn't exactly the smartest choice of destination but, in the moment that she had planeswalked, all Liliana had wanted was to escape to somewhere familiar. As much as her instincts told her to run, and to run fast, into the multiverse, to where no one would ever imagine to find her, she couldn't help but long for the nostalgic comforts of home.

"Comforts", now _there_ was a funny word, since she had landed herself in a swamp and was traveling towards what was most likely just as much in ruins as the last time she had seen it. Hiking up her skirt that had already become heavy and damp from swamp water with one hand, and cradling the spirit gem that was all that remained of Nicol Bolas in her opposite arm, Liliana trudged onward toward her old home: the start of her calamitous journey and what she suspected would be where a new life of hers would begin as well.

 _Every time I make this journey, I feel like I return with less and less,_ she thought to herself as she paused to catch her breath. _Perhaps, home is all I have now._

The last, fleeting rays of sunlight broke through the tangled, twisted branches above, settling down around her, with a single, golden stream pouring onto her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat as she allowed her skirt to drop into the filthy water once more so that she could reach up to grasp it, and frowned when she only felt her own skin and the fleeting warmth of the sun. There was nobody there, not anymore. All that remained was just her, the spirit gem and a filthy, uncaring swamp.

 _Don't think about it. Don't think about it._ She repeated those words over and over again in her head. _Push it down, just like you always do. Just like with Josu, and with Jace, you can do it again. Hundreds of years of experience should honestly have made you a natural..._

She remained rooted to the spot, ankle-deep in muddy water, until the sunlight grew dim and was overtaken by gathering clouds. Once again, the familiar warmth that danced along her shoulder was gone, leaving her cold. Only then, with nothing to keep her there, did she press on, hand falling away from her shoulder but not bothering to hike her skirt back up. Trying to keep it pristine had become a lost cause the second she stepped foot in the Caligo Morass, anyway.

Distracting herself, Liliana turned her attention to the spirit gem, turning it over in her hands and running her fingers over the glimmering surface that seemed to change from gold to silver, depending on the light. She stared back at her reflection that seemed like it was glaring back at her, judging her silently over whether or not she had been truly been deserving of the literal blessing she had received back on Ravnica.

_Don't look at me like that. It's too late to dictate what I do and don't deserve. What's done is done, and what's in the past can't be changed._

Liliana tore her gaze away from her reflection, instead turning her attention to a particularly deep part of the swamp she had intended on going around. She wondered if the place was as she remembered it, as being a particular part of the swamp travelers had always been warned not to pass through. The filthy, murky water hid surprises below it's surface, particularly a steep drop off that would catch people trying to cut through off guard and cause the more unprepared of those to drown. She stared back down at the gem again, this time seeing it for what is was: the last remaining bit of the dragon who she despised, who had held her soul in his mighty claws and squeezed, making her his hapless puppet. There was little doubt that the object that Bolas always had adorning the space between his horns held some sort of impressive magic, but at the moment Liliana hardly could see it for its potential value. Now, it was just a cruel reminder that was making her trip through the swamp that much harder.

"I guess you could call this a burial- even though Bolas deserves even _less_ than a swamp." She muttered to herself as she carefully waded deeper into the water, her feet sweeping in front of her through the mud that lined the bottom until she found the very drop off that had stood the test of time. It seemed her and the dangerous swampy pit had that much in common, and Liliana couldn't help but chuckle at the bitter comparison. She was also nothing but a hazard that took the lives of those who dared drop the guard and draw too close.

With a heavy sigh, she tossed the glittering gem into the water, watching it quickly vanish from view as it easily sank into the muddy depths. Liliana took note of where it was she had dropped it, knowing that it would be safe there, for better or for worse, should she ever decide to uncover its secrets. For now, one ancient artifact of untold power was enough, as she regarded the chain veil fastened to her belt.

"I've gotten rid of demons, and I've gotten rid of an all-powerful dragon, looks like you're next on my list." She spoke aloud as the very bottom of the veil dipped into the filhty water, making small ripples that seemed to almost be infused with the cruel, dark whispers of the Onakke within. "I guess that's what my life's been reduced to: just an endless laundry list of my own mistakes I need to fix- just hundreds of years of screw-ups."

_I'll be on my own for this one though. No one to turn to, no Gatewatch to manipulate, no beefslab to bail me out when things get too dire..._

Liliana shook her head, pushing her feelings down once again with a frustrated groan. She clutched her head, feeling as though a headache would bloom at any second if she continued to have to stop herself from thinking of him. She could recall Chandra, Nissa, Jace and all the other tag alongs the Gatewatch had scooped up, all without even a single twinge in her heart, but the second her mind even began to wander towards the simplest of thoughts of the group's final member, emotions she had thought she had excellent control over threatened to overflow.

Cursing to herself, she pressed on through the swamp, ignoring the discomforting feeling of swamp water seeping into her clothes, ignoring the Veil, and ignoring her feelings. She could fix these things in time, just not at the moment, and all that mattered was returning to the one place she could call home, as dilapidated as it was, where she could regain her bearings and make her plans. She'd be able to clean herself of the best she could and make herself presentable again, she would begin setting things into motion to rid herself of the veil, and she would forget about him... or at least, she _hoped._

Swamp water soon became solid ground, which Liliana couldn't be more happier about, and it wasn't long before she emerged from the wood and onto a hill that looked out over her old family estate: the Vess mansion, or at least, what remained of it. She sighed, convincing herself that she should at least be thankful that the skeleton of the old building was still intact.

"So you really returned here, to the one place that those fools in the Gatewatch will very likely search first?" A voice mockingly asked, accompanied by the flapping of dozens upon dozens of wings and the hoarse, deathly cawing of ravens. "You could go anywhere in the multiverse, no longer tethered, and you choose to come _here_?"

"You say 'no longer tethered', and yet _you're_ still here." Liliana responded bitterly, not bothering to look behind her as she began to make her way down toward the mansion. She knew _he_ was there- him and his annoying flock of burnt pigeons.

"I'm here because I only want what's best for you." Much to Liliana's annoyance, the voice of the Raven Man was still close behind, the accompanying murder now flying and circling overhead like a cloud she couldn't escape.

"If it's coming from you, trust me when I say that I don't want shit." Liliana snarled. "So go flutter off somewhere else- I'd say I'm not in the mood, but that would imply that I'd _ever_ be in the mood to deal with you."

"You'll waste the life that Gideon Jura gave you if you continue down this selfish path." The Raven Man warned. "So stop wallowing in your own self pity and we'll make his sacrifice worth it toge-"

"Don't you dare speak his name! It has no place upon those withered lips of yours!" Liliana snapped as she finally whipped around to face the man who was her oldest adversary and her most hated enemy. More than her demons, more than Bolas, more than the clumsy heroic meddling of the Gatewatch, she hated him the very most, and hearing him speak _his_ name made her skin crawl and her stomach tie itself into knots. For him to do even just that was almost as if he were desecrating his very memory. "Don't you dare think I can be so easily manipulated!"

"If memory serves, I have every reason to believe that you can be, if doing so were my goal." He responded cooly, despite Liliana's obvious fury.

"I don't care what your goals are- and I never have!" Liliana snarled before turning her back on him once again, continuing her trek down to her childhood home at double the speed. "I don't care what you want! I don't care what anyone else wants!"

He didn't follow after her- or, at least, not inside. Liliana didn't bother to check to see if he was still around, but she could at least hear the shrill call of the ravens that still flew overhead outside en masse. She found an impressively intact set of stairs that led to the upper levels of the mansion that lay exposed to the elements without a roof to cover them, as she felt the emotions she'd been pushing down coming back up, not completely unlike vomit. Stumbling out onto the upper-most level of the mansion, she could see the poorly-fairing lands that surrounded it, as well as the sun that was just starting to set, dying the withered fields and the gnarled tree line in a vibrant blood-red hue.

"I won't be manipulated anymore, and I won't be used! My life is mine to control now, and I'll do with it what _I_ please!" She shouted to no one in particular, her voice shaking and her once proud posture beginning to falter. "Because that's what beefslab would want! That's what _Gideon_ would want!"

Liliana's view of her family estate melted together with the sunset as tears clouded her vision. Finally, standing on the last refuge she had, shouting at the top of her lungs, Liliana allowed her emotions to overflow as years upon years of torment, frustration and pain came flooding back along with the final vision of Gideon she had seen as he took on her curse and gave her his gift of immunity. Falling to her knees, Liliana Vess, for the first time in what felt like a long, difficult eternity, cried.

**Tezzeret**

He had to admit, although his plan was tight, his planeswalking had gotten considerably rusty. With how little he had actually traversed the blind eternities using his spark while under Nicol Bolas' thumb, and the strain the planar bridge put on his body, Tezzeret couldn't help but take a brief rest the second he arrived at the end of his long and complex journey he had made winding and tedious by design. He wasn't a fool, he knew he would be tracked. With the knowledge he had now, he was more than positive that the dimwits back on Ravnica were planning on hunting him down, now that the main threat had been eliminated, now that they could follow after him through the blind eternities...

Now that Nicol Bolas was good and dead.

Tezzeret couldn't help himself but to laugh now that he had a moment to breath, recalling when his escape from Amonkhet had initially wound up with him planning on lying low on Innistrad. Much to his surprise, at the time, the half-devil planeswalker, Tibalt, who once had been one of the hapless victims caught up in Bolas' plane-wide trap, had tracked him down. Even _more_ surprising was that Tibalt had specifically gone after him, very eager to spin the tale of his master's demise at the hands of Liliana Vess. It was very likely that he had been hoping for Tezzeret to be devastated at the news, but Tibalt (along with possibly a lot of things, truthfully), hadn't accounted for him to laugh right in his face. The devilish planeswalker, who had hoped to feed on his misery, hadn't accounted for the fact that Tezzeret absolutely _despised_ Bolas.

Tezzeret could only wish he had been there to witness it: Nicol Bolas being thwarted and soundly killed by the woman who he had put so much stock into. It would have been a scene that would have fueled Tezzeret for years, possibly even a lifetime, and the only "devistation" he felt at the time when Tibalt was trying to get some kind of rise out of him was that he had cut him off too soon. There was little doubt that, had he held back his laughter a few moments more, Tibalt would have gone to great lengths to describe just how Nicol Bolas had died. Unfortunately for Tezzeret, he would only get to satisfy himself with the idea.

Nicol Bolas, for all of his scheming, planning and gloating- going as far as to call himself a god- was killed by the one person he had put the most effort into making sure she could never disobey him. It was probably the best joke that Tezzeret had ever heard- and he would have laughed longer and harder if the planar bridge, damaged and leaking energy that was slowly searing him from the inside out, didn't make everything a painful chore.

Free to finally do as he pleased, he had taken no time in making his way to an old haunt on Alara- Esper, specifically. It was an old side project of a side project of a side project he had maintained mostly to keep himself sane, with the hope that he would have something waiting in the wings on the rare occasion that Nicol Bolas met his well-deserved end. Now, that day had finally arrived, and he reveled in the freedom of being able to prioritize how he saw fit. There were plenty of places like this: hidden pockets and alcoves Tezzeret had squared away, slowly piecing together his own master plans while Nicol Bolas went about lining up the dominoes for his own. This particular one simply suited his needs the best, for the time being.

Looking out over the white, sandy beach, toward the thick clouds that hid the horizon, Tezzeret raised his perfect etherium arm and shot a flare that lit up the dark sky with a brilliant red glow. A short pause was followed by the clouds parting in an almost mechanical fashion, revealing themselves to be an illusion that deterred people from catching a glimpse of what lay beyond: the old Seeker's Sanctum that Tezzeret had made his own.

Flying from out of the thick cloud cover, a mighty gargoyle fashioned from powerful etherium that mimicked Tezzeret's arm soared out towards the beach. He remained where he stood as the creature landed to meet him on the shore, kicking up sand with it's impressive, metal girth and stopping just in time before it would have collided with it's master.

"Brokk." Tezzeret regarded the gargoyle with a slight, approving nod while the creature gave him a deep bow, lowering it's bulky head all the way onto the sand.

"Master..." Brokk boomed, his deep and gravelly voice shaking the ground they stood upon. Tezzeret couldn't help but smirk at the sound of that. It had been a very, very long time since someone hard regarded him with such reverence, and it would be even longer before he regarded anyone else in such a fashion. With Bolas out of the picture, he could finally begin his, frankly, overdue ascension.

"Let's not waste any more time, there are preparations that need to be made." He said he gripped the etherium that intricately coiled around Brokk's stone core, hoisting himself up onto the gargoyle's back with an exhausted grunt. "With any luck, my associate should be getting down to working on their end of our bargain, so it's time I got things ready as well."

Standing on the back of the majestically large creature, Tezzeret braced himself as Brokk stood back up to his full height before taking a thunderous running start and leaping into the air, soaring back towards the cloud cover from which he had come. Squinting into the shroud of swirling fog, a smile grew wider and wider on Tezzeret's lips the more he could make out the fortress that lay hidden just beyond. It made for an impressive hideaway, but it would soon make for an even more impressive tomb. His first victory would be silent, hidden within it's walls, but it was sure to send a message to all those who would choose to stand against him- especially to those who called themselves the Gatewatch.

"Soon..." He muttered to himself as their destination came into full view, the thick clouds clearing suddenly as they entered what mimicked the eye of a storm. Clutching his chest where the planar bridge slowly burned inside of him, his grin became wide enough to be considered giddy. "... Soon, I'll be free to achieve the greatness that I was robed of for far too long."

**Dovin Baan**

Home wasn't exactly the smartest of places to travel back to, he knew, but as Dovin escaped into the Blind Eternities, robbed of his vision and his pride, he had taken a great risk and sought out the familiar. He stumbled into his home he had left unattended for almost the whole time he had served Bolas, only having returned every once in a while to make sure the boarded-up hideaway didn't start accumulating too much dust in his absence. He tripped over chairs he had been sure to put back onto place and ran into counter tops, eventually nearly collapsing onto one as he gripped the surface tightly, trying to regain his bearings as he fought through agony, both from having knives driven into his eyes, and from his humiliating loss.

With teeth clenched and a furious gurgle clawing its way from the back of his throat, Dovin slammed a fist against the counter, fist meeting stone as well as fresh, warm blood that flowed down his face and splattered into the surface. Overcome with such a fury that would have blinded him even if he had escaped with his sight, for a split second he even considered overturning everything he had made sure to keep neat and tidy, and reducing his once proud home to nothing but a chaotic mess.

He had been been caught off guard. He had been defeated because of his _own_ error. He had been found... _lacking_. Perhaps it was best his eyes had been rendered useless, if they had managed to fail him so utterly and completely while they were still intact.

"Finally, I was starting to think you had gained the sense to run off to somewhere else with your tail between your legs." A voice pierced the silence, coming from behind Dovin, most likely from the adjacent room.

" _What!?_ " He gasped as he turned around, facing in the direction the voice had come from. It wasn't one he recognized, clearly belonging to someone who had never spoken to him once before. Even if it were someone masking their voice, so long as he had heard it once it would be unmistakable, but no matter how hard he tried, Dovin couldn't put a name or a face to the voice that regarded him with a mocking chuckle.

"Now, now, don't go trying to flee like a frightened rabbit- unless you want only half of you to make it into the blind eternities," the voice threatened. Dovin froze, using his remaining, frazzled senses to gauge the threat that had found its way into his home. The person speaking hadn't grown any closer, with no footsteps drawing near and no change in temperature. They breathed evenly, hardly even sounding a fraction of how strained and stressed he was- in fact they were the very picture of calm, even if he didn't have the ability to see them...

And yet he knew, instinctively, that they absolutely had the ability to kill him. The killing intent that flooded the room felt almost like a physical forced that squeezed him and kept him in place.

"Why are you here?" He asked as he listed in his head all of the objects in the room he could use to defend himself with, of which there were staggeringly few. He was absolutely 100% certain he lad left behind perfectly functional thopters to guard the place while he was away but, the fact that whoever this trespasser was still stood, and had been waiting for him, gave clear indication that they had most likely already dealt with them. The thopters were either in working condition, or in pieces, with there being no way that they malfunctioned long enough to allow a stranger to just waltz in.

"To offer you help, which you clearly need." The intruder explained. "In the wake of Bolas' defeat, my associate and I offer you a chance to rise from his ashes."

"Bolas... certainly you don't mean to say that he-"

"Was killed? Well, I guess you either weren't there to see it or... I guess you probably wouldn't have been able to see it, even if you were there, huh?" They mocked. "Liliana Vess saw to it that the dragon met his end, and now you can either be dragged down into hell along with him, or you can join us to save what remains of your hide."

"You're working for Tezzeret, aren't you? Only he would come to me with a plan he concocted before Bolas' corpse even went cold." Dovin frowned. He had no reason to doubt the speaker's words, he could tell just by listening that they weren't lying to him, as unbelievable as Liliana succeeding in killing such an amazingly powerful monster like Bolas was.

"You're going to be hunted very soon, your crimes aren't going to go unpunished, and the people of Ravnica still have planeswalkers to spare to send after you. Surely you don't want to spend the rest of your days running blindly through the multiverse." They warned. "Tezzeret can offer you protection, and maybe even a purpose now that you're no longer welcome here, or anywhere where people might recognize your face. Even without your sight, you still have amazing potential to be a vary valuable asset."

"And what, might I ask, is the catch?" Dovin questioned.

"Catch?"

"Don't play dumb with me, I know Tezzeret down to his core. He isn't going to offer me protection out of the kindness of his heart. He'll want me to do something to prove my worth to him." He snarled. "What does that etherium-clad infidel want?"

"Only to help him in sending a message," the intruder confessed in a matter-of-fact tone, "to destroy those who are sent after you as cruelly and completely as you can."

**Teyo Verada**

The moment the word "death" had left the dragon, Niv-Mizzet's, mouth, Teyo became increasingly unsettled. How the guilds of Ravnica functioned, like enemies just waiting for a reason to lash out at one another, all acting under the thin, weak veneer of cooperation hadn't sat well with him since day one, but he had been left to assume it was all due to the chaos of what had seemed like impending doom. But now, as peace settled in slowly into the cracks left behind by Nicol Bolas' war, things seemed to have grown somehow even more hostile. Everyone needed to be present, but nobody seemed to want to be.

And now, these groups that governed the entire plane, whose cooperation and tolerance of one another that only ran skin-deep, were on the subject of execution like it were any other bureaucratic matter. There was no talk of bringing Dovin Baan, Tezzeret or Liliana Vess back to Ravnica to stand trial for their crimes, only of how easily and quietly they could be eliminated. Why was there a need for secrecy? Why was there a need for urgency? There was no telling why the three other planeswalkers had done the things they did, whether they had done so willingly or under duress. It all didn't seem right to Teyo, or hardly fair.

Liliana Vess came to mind especially, who had commanded Bolas' army of eternal soldiers, but had also been the one to kill Bolas herself. Was that not enough to prove that she might have been originally acting against her own interests? Wasn't killing the tyrant that threatened to kill even more than she had enough to at least pardon her from being assassinated? They had her to thank they were alive to even have this meeting, and yet they regarded her as if she were just as bad as Nicol Bolas herself.

Teyo hardly knew anything about Gideon Jura aside from what he had learned through word of mouth, but he'd hardly heard anything close to even the gentlest of criticism. Didn't the fact that such a person, so beloved and so driven to do what was right, had given his life for someone like Liliana mean anything? Did they think he had traded his life so that she could live out of _error!?_ He had seen something in her- a light that none of the guilds discussing her punishment could see- and Teyo wanted to as well.

It was just his luck, however, that he'd most likely be met with complete disregard at best if he so much as breathed out of turn during their meeting. With only a desperate hope to cling to, he looked to Kaya, who had just taken an oath moments before that contrasted against the cold ideals of the guilds, and hoped that she, too, understood that the three she, Vraska and Ral Zarek had been tasked to assassinate, deserved a fair trial for what they had done.

"You do realize those three left Ravnica ages ago, and that Tezzeret wasn't even on Ravnica when he escaped, right?" She asked the council with the annoyed cock of her brow. "There's tasking us with assassinating criminals, and then there's expecting us to work a miracle."

Teyo's heart sank, her words not the call for reason he was hoping to hear.

"Typical of you all to assume you all know so much when you only know as much as your own perspectives allow you to perceive..." Vraska muttered, folding her arms.

"Well, maybe if you explained it to us, then-" Lavinia began to speak up, clearly hurdling towards losing her patience.

"So willing to listen now, when the answer benefits you." Vraska spoke under her breath.

"Stop, both of you, you're only helping to waste even more time." Ral interjected, stepping between the two of them.

"Fine, let's spend our time more wisely in explaining the finer details of planeswalking to plane-bound fools." Vraska snarled.

"I'd personally be very interested to know why it is we can't simply get this business underway." Niv-Mizzet huffed impatiently. "As much we all _love_ standing around and listening to you all hiss and spit at one another..."

"Tracking the three of them isn't going to be as easy as tracking someone on a single plane." Ral explained, sounding slightly winded. "You can only follow a trail someone leaves if you follow right after them, otherwise it just gets swept up in the aether. You'd have better luck searching the beach for a single, specific grain of sand."

"At this point, there's probably not even a shred evidence left that they traveled through the Blind Eternities at all." Kaya added. "They're as good as gone."

"What about Project Lightening Bug? Shouldn't that help you with tracking them down?" Niv-Mizzet asked, turning very specifically to Ral, speaking in a level of annoyance that slowly grew with every word.

"Certainly, if it hadn't gotten destroyed along with the beacon." Ral grumbled, beginning to regard his former guildmaster with a little more attitude.

"Are you getting any of this?" Teyo asked Rat in a hushed tone, leaning down to whisper to her.

"I started tuning it all out a while ago." Rat shook her head. "Trying to act like I have any place in planeswalker business isn't going to do me any good." She seemed exhausted, and not just because the two of them had hardly gotten so much as a wink of sleep since Teyo had arrived. And, even though she had claimed to not care to understand, it was more than clear that Rat was listening, and hanging on to every word when it came to the subject of Kaya leaving her behind.

"Rat, are you-?"

"Enough!" Kaya shouting cut him off, as well as the argument that was starting to grow among the guilds, all of them either frustrated, confused, or very clearly both. "We're long past making any progress in finding a way to track those three. We're just taking out our frustration and our exhaustion on each other now, and you can all do that some other time, when there aren't criminals to locate!"

"...She has a point..." Vraska could be heard speaking in agreement, although begrudgingly.

"We should continue all of this tomorrow." Ral added with an exhausted sigh.

"If you think a night's rest will help you all to clear your heads, so be it- but I won't allow any more than that." Niv-Mizzet growled. "We'll need _solutions_ by tomorrow."

"An hour after dawn at the Azorius Senate House should be more appropriate than out in the open." Lavinia suggested. "We can't risk anyone learning about all this any more than we already have."

"That includes the former Living Guildpact." Niv-Mizzet added as he very pointedly made eye contact with Vraska, who grew tense under his gaze.

They must have been talking about Jace Beleren, Teyo figured, who he had seen kissing Vraska before. The gorgon kept her usual scowl she had worn the entire meeting, but it was clear she was slightly conflicted between devotion to her title and her devotion to Jace. Even if it was guild business, she seemed visibly uncomfortable with the thought of having to keep it from him.

"Jace Beleren no longer has any business with us, no matter your relationship with him in private. He's an outside now, and our plans shouldn't concern him." He continued.

"There's also the risk he could read your mind, you know." Ral added. "Maybe it's in your best interest to keep yourself away from him tonight."

"I don't need to hear that from someone who slept with a man from an opposing guild, in secret, for years." Vraska snapped, narrowing her eyes. "You of all people should be able to understand the unspoken trust people who love each other have- Jace isn't going to try and uncover my secrets just because he can."

"I'm just warning you-"

"And _I'm_ just telling you: _back off._ " Vraska spoke in a warning tone. "You might know Jace, but you don't know him like I do." And, with that said, she turned her back on all of them, refusing to continue the conversation further as she strode away. One by one, everyone else seemed to follow suit, quickly dispersing before the procession following Jace and the others could return.

"You're welcome to come back with me to Orzhova- both of you." Kaya offered. "I think I need a shower even more desperately after all that nonsense, and we all could use a night of relaxation."

"I still have no idea what that even is." Teyo mentioned

"Don't tell him you'll ruin the surprise." Rat chuckled. "I swear, watching you find out about all this common stuff is like watching a baby take it's first steps- it's almost sort of cute."

"You'll be back in familiar territory tomorrow, I promise." Kaya said with an assuring smile. "Though the thought of sending you back to somewhere where showers aren't even a concept has me feeling guilty, to say the least."

"You forget I lived my entire life so far back on Gobakhan- it's my home, it's not going to do me any harm sending me back." Teyo laughed before catching a glimpse of Rat looking down at the ground sadly, her smile she had worn nothing more than a memory. Her words she had shared with him earlier echoed in his mind as he struggled over wanting, truly, to return to the familiarity of his home and wanting to embrace the found family he had formed with Kaya- and especially with Rat.

_You're both planeswalkers. You'll leave Ravnica eventually._

Teyo didn't like the constant feeling of tension that seemed to follow the guilds, even during peacetime. He didn't like the idea of Kaya going off and killing Liliana Vess in secret, and voiding her actions that had literally saved them all. On top of all of that, he especially didn't like the thought of hurting Rat, and how that and wanting to return home were at odds. He still had no idea what a shower was, but he desperately hoped it helped in easing his growing discomfort.

**Jace Beleren**

The procession was led all the way back to where it had begun, and Jace couldn't help but note he felt even worse than when they had started. Walking beside Chandra, cradling Gideon's breastplate in her arms- the last piece of the man who she had loved and the man who he had called his best friend- his feet felt like they had grown heavier with every single step.

 _Did I ever even tell Gideon he was my friend while he was alive?_ Jace wondered to himself, feeling even worse as he was only able to recall making strategies and arguing. He'd never seen much of a point to stop and tell Gideon something as simple as how he felt, since he never even fathomed that chance would ever expire. Gideon had always seemed like a warm and comforting constant, like the sun, and now it felt like he was stumbling around in the dark.

What made things even worse was that he couldn't justify it all like everyone else around him was trying to. All around him, from every angle, he could hear people already begin weaving tales about how Gideon had given his life so that Nicol Bolas could be killed. It had been a noble sacrifice, and it was thanks to him that Bolas was dead. Jace knew better- or worse, it definitly felt more like a "worse". Nobody had seen through his illusion, and only he, Ugin and Bolas himself knew the truth: that Nicol Bolas wasn't dead. And, while Ugin had assured him that he would be trapped in his own realm, Jace had seen Ugin's handiwork when it came to "trapping" things back on Zendikar.

Once again, Jace Beleren was burdened with cruel knowledge that things weren't truly as they seemed.

"What do we do now?" Chandra asked as the crowd around them began to disperse. It was unclear if she was asking the group, or if she were trying to communicate with Gideon beyond the grave as she looked down at the single memento he had left behind.

"I suppose we... plan the funeral." Jace suggested.

"No, not like that, I mean what do we do now, as the Gatewatch!?" She shot back. "Bolas is dead, but everyone who helped him escaped- our job isn't over..."

Jace could tell immediately that this wasn't just about them still having a duty to protect the multiverse from remaining threats. She wasn't thinking about how they would outsmart Tezzeret, or how they would bring down Dovin Baan, who she had a personal history with. Only one of Bolas' remaining compatriots situated themselves at the forefront of Chandra's weary mind.

"This is about Liliana, isn't it?"

"Are we really meant to go and hunt her down, like we've done everything else? She betrayed the multiverse, her oath and all of us, it should be a decision as simple as killing Tezzeret and killing Baan..." Chandra moaned, sounding weary. "But, she was Gatewatch before, wasn't she? She was our friend before... _wasn't she?_ "

From beside her, Nissa rested a hand on her dear companion's shivering shoulder, surprisingly looking just as conflicted.

"Sometimes, making the decision to do the right thing isn't easy..." Ajani spoke up, trying to offer up words of comfort where everyone else, Jace included, was unable to. "Even the path of righteousness has its thorns."

"Liliana made her choices, Chandra. She needs to be held accountable for every life she was responsible for taking." Jace attempted to reason with her, but immediately regretted his words as the fiery red-head met his gaze with a frustrated glare.

"That's easy for you to say, you _never_ trusted her! You've probably been _waiting_ for an excuse like this!" She snapped.

"You don't know her like I did, Chandra-"

"And you don't know her like _I_ did!" Chandra yelled, pulling away from Nissa to take a furious step toward Jace. "She was my ally... she was my _friend_!"

"She was mine, too, long before any of you were-!"

"Why don't we save this for another time, preferably some place less public." Jaya interrupted, pushing a furious Chandra back with an extended arm, but giving Jace the warning glare. "Let's discuss the possibility of having to hunt down and kill friends when there isn't a _funeral_ to plan."

"Arguing like this is like picking at fresh wounds. We need a chance to rest and to heal." Teferi nodded. "The multiverse can stand one more night without the Gatewatch."

"And that's one more night that I'm not spending here." Chandra grumbled as she took a step backward. "I'm going back to Kaladesh- I can't stand Ravnica, not anymore."

Jace didn't even have to read her mind to know what she was thinking as she eyed him while she spoke. At least for the time being, she wanted nothing to do with _him_. He held back any words of apology he could have said in that moment, knowing full well they would be shot down in a figurative fiery blaze.

"You're all welcome to join me if you want- I know a lot of you probably have other places to be." Chandra offered with a tone that was a little more dejected.

"I have matters that need attending to, and we all probably have important duties we've been kept away from..." Karn agreed slightly, but his tone wavered, revealing his hesitance.

"I don't know who this 'we' is, all I want is a nap, and I'll take it anywhere." Jaya scoffed.

"We'll be happy to join you on Kaladesh, we should spend the night before the funeral together." Nissa said with a slight nod.

"You don't want to return to Zendikar? I won't blame you if you'd rather return home, I know how important it is to you." Chandra gaped.

"You're just as important." Nissa smiled warmly, brushing a lock of crimson hair from out of Chandra's face and tucking it carefully behind her ear. "I already deserted you when you needed me once before... I need to get into the habit of not doing it again."

"A-ah..." Chandra mumbled, caught off guard by Nissa's sincerity. "Well... you're always welcome, not just tonight."

"Flirt on your own time, you two, if I'm on my feet for another minute, one of you is going to have to carry me to Kaladesh." Jaya chuckled.

"I wasn't- we weren't-!" Chandra blushed, looking between the others and Nissa who gazed back at her innocently. If it had been flirting she was doing, she didn't see the issue. "Oh, whatever, let's go- and if anyone even breaths a word about Liliana, they're spending the night on the street!"

She planeswalked away in a brilliant blaze, followed by the rush of calm that signaled Nissa's subsequent retreat. One by one they all left, vanishing from the square, leaving behind hints of their own magic in their wake. Soon, it became just Ajani and Jace, standing alone, the former looking ready to take his leave as well, while the later wasn't completely keen about returning to Kaladesh with the others. It was a safe haven for them, with it's still freshly established peace, and Chandra's home, but Jace felt an incredible amount of disconnect at the thought of leaving Ravnica.

"You aren't coming." It wasn't a question from Ajani, more of a statement of the obvious. Jace let out a sigh and shook his head.

"After that display, I think I'll stay the night here." He said. "Tell the others to reconvene here tomorrow. I'll meet up with you all, and we can head to Theros from there."

"Are you sure you're alright with spending the night before the funeral alone? I know from experience it's best to spend these moments among company." Ajani said, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Even if there's tension between you and Chandra..."

"I still have a few things I need to take care of here." Jace explained. "And, if it turns out that I can't make it to Kaladesh well... I won't necessarily be alone here on Ravnica."

"Aye... you mean the gorgon woman, Vraska." Ajani spoke with a knowing nod.

"Hold on I didn't mean to imply what you think I'm implying..." Jace began to deny, but quickly ran out of steam as Ajani raised his brows with a smile that could certainly be read as him being confident in his assumptions. "... But yes, there is Vraska."

"She seems to care about you a great deal- I'm sure you feel the same for her." Ajani chortled. "I suppose I can't blame you for wanting to do everything in your power to keep things that way."

"I feel like I'm doing everything in my power to keep from mucking things up." Jace corrected. "I'm hardly what you would call a romantic."

"Ah, but you _are_ a good man, and from what I've seen, Vraska hardly seems the type of woman who has much need for a romantic." Ajani said reassuringly. "Maybe, all she needs is just 'a good man'."

"Right... Thanks." Jace agreed, unable to keep himself from smiling as Ajani, finally, departed, following after the others and leaving Jace to his own devices.

Standing alone in the square, among the thinning crowd, he felt the crushing weight of loneliness immediately begin to descend. Ajani's comment about needing to be among others quickly began to ring true as he looked up towards Bolas' citadel. It was almost unfortunate that Ravnica was like a second home to him, as it seemed like there would be a constant reminder, for a good, long while, of the person so dear to him that he had lost left to loom over the city.

"Finally ditched the entourage?" A voice chuckled gently from behind. It occurred to him that, maybe, it had been their intention to try and surprise him, but Jace hardly had the energy to jump or even gasp, and the familiarity of the voice left him feeling soothed.

"Captain Vraska." He greeted, wiping the frown he had been wearing away as best as he could as he turned to face her just in time to watch as she made an unamused face.

"A little late for that, don't you think?" She asked.

"I was just thinking it was a shame that I didn't get the chance to use it, since things didn't go as planned." Jace admitted. "But I guess things don't always go as planned between us, don't they."

"For the better, I would hope." Vraska smirked as she reached out and took his hand in hers.

"And then some." He added, feeling relief for the first time in ages. He wanted to pull her close and kiss her, but the middle of a busy city square didn't seem like the greatest of places. "But, speaking of plans, I can't help but remember we had made some not too long ago."

"And the itinerary?" Vraska asked with a light level of playfulness.

"If memory serves, I recall there was mention of coffee... a bookstore... very specifically, you called it a date." He responded in kind with a smirk.

"And I'm certain that _you're_ the one who called it that," she teased.

"I think we both did- and I think we both could use a coffee." He laughed.

"And a good book." She added, giving his hand a firm squeeze. Jace could remember back when they only ever faced one another as enemies, and now he couldn't get enough to the brief glimpses of her smile that shone through her naturally cold exterior. "No better time than now, now that I have you all to myself."

"You'll be getting that a lot more, now that I don't have any obligations as the Living Guildpact." He said as she took the lead, pulling him along out of the square and down a nearby side road. "Before, I hardly ever had a moment alone."

"What about that little club you're apart of: the Gatewatch, was it? I'm sure you have more than a small obligation to assisting them." Vraska mentioned. "And the multiverse is a little more vast and busy than just Ravnica."

"Well, you could always join, the door is always open." He offered with a mixture of sarcasm and genuine seriousness. "I mean, all it takes is a little oath and you're in."

"Jace, please, I have my people to worry about here, I don't think it would be wise for Queen Vraska, guindmaster of the Golgari Swarm to be running off to go play hero." Vraska huffed, saying her full title with enough flourish to sound like she was mocking it. "I'm hardly hero material, anyway, I'm sure you've seen my handiwork back at the Azorius Sentate House..."

"If it's any consolation, I think Gideon would-"

"Jace, please, don't speak for a dead man, it's not in the best taste."

"Sorry..."

"I have my own world to worry about, and my own duty to serve, if I devoted myself to something else, I would only wind up half-assing both positions, trust me. I can only make room for so much." Vraska sighed.

"Well, then it's lucky that I can make room for you." Jace said with an understanding smile. "Enough room to stop for coffee, enough room to sit down and read a good book... and time to get to know my Captain even more."

"...Even though you could just as easily do that by just reading my mind?" She asked him with a strange amount of caution, as if she were looking for a specific answer to her question. It was enough to give Jace pause before he answered, unsure of the exact answer she wanted, but fully aware of the one his heart wanted to give.

"I would never do that to you, not without your permission. I respect you more than to treat you like a book that I can just open to any page and read." He told her firmly, wanting to get across just how serious he was. "Whatever stories you hold, or secrets you hide, I'll be here for when you're good and ready to share them."

"Good..." Vraska said, sounding oddly relieved as they continued to walk on. Jace couldn't help but notice, despite how confident he had been in his answer, that something still seemed to be troubling her. But, like he had just promised, he didn't attempt to pry, and only adjusted his grip so that he could lace his fingers through hers, adding more of a sense of warmth to their handhold.

They remained like that for some time, walking hand-in-hand in relative silence as Jace took quick peaks over to her, taking note that she didn't seem as content as he would have hoped. Was it because of him, or was it because of something he didn't know about? Jace wasn't all too sure if he preferred one or the other. Each time she caught him staring, he would merely smile, and each time it was enough to disarm her, but his smiles were slowly becoming harder and harder to make. Eventually, she would catch on to his unease as well.

"Oh! Isn't that just _great!_ " She suddenly exclaimed as they turned another corner into an even narrower street- one that was closer to the citadel and one that looked like it had seen a lot of activity during the attack. There wasn't a building standing that wasn't in some form of disrepair, with some just barely keeping their frames, while others were reduced to piles of rubble hardly looking like they had been buildings at all at one point.

"Don't tell me, the place we planned to get coffee-"

"-Was right about here." Vraska finished his thought, motioning angrily towards one of the piles of rubble that had probably been a building at one point. "I had hoped so much it had survived..."

"...And the bookstore would be...?" Jace asked hesitantly, the odds hardly looking good.

"The other sad rock pile over there..." She groaned, pointing to a similar mess across the street. "The only way we'd be able to read any of those books would be if we dug them out."

"Not exactly anyone's idea of a date." He commented. "I guess we'll have to consider our plans postponed."

"I'm sorry... I should have seen this coming." She apologized. "I guess after everything that happened, I just... wanted to get to finally spend some time with you, like we had _originally_ planned it."

"It may not be the same, but... I don't care if it's a date with coffee and books, or whatever else. So long as I get to spend time with you, anything we do will be enough." He said. "Maybe propose a plan for a stronger rebuilding effort the next time it comes up, but I'm fine to wait, and to compromise until then."

"Well, then, if that's the case..." Vraska brought up thoughtfully. "There is one, other place I know of where we can enjoy a nice cup of coffee."

"Oh? Well, I'm all ears." Jace perked up.

"... Back at my quarters."

"W-what!? Are you sure?" Jace stammered. "Is that really alright?"

"Wipe that blush off your face, goodness, what kind of woman do you take me for?" Vraska laughed. "It's coffee, Jace, _just_ coffee."


	3. Chapter 3

**Quiet Tension**

**Rat**

Counting down the hours, minutes and seconds until the next day was no way to spend an evening, and yet Rat couldn't help but do it anyway. She wished that final evening could last forever, where she could continue to pretend that Mistress Kaya and Teyo wouldn't ever leave, and that they were just like her. She wished and wished she could live in the eternal bliss of the moment, with all of them still on the same plane, and in the same manor, even. She didn't know how vast the multiverse even was, but she was absolutely certain it was a greater distance than Teyo being only a few doors down, and Mistress Kaya sitting across the room from her.

_In the end, their homes are somewhere else, this plane was just an extended rest stop, and I was just here to greet them._

"Rat, is something the matter?" Mistress Kaya spoke up from her seat she was spread out on. She had recently emerged from her shower, stripped of all her clothes left filthy from grave digging and instead wore an elegant robe. The fabric hugged her body lazily, just barely draping down to her knees and leaving her long legs exposed. Rat couldn't help but stare, even if she knew it was rude, taking small eye-fulls of Mistress Kaya's long dancer-like legs. She was a thing of beauty in an otherwise harsh world.

"No, nothing!" Rat perked up, her gaze trailing up from Mistress Kaya's legs until she looked back at her own quizzical stare with a convincing smile. Among her arsenal of skills, she had a smile that could cover up any lie, no matter how big (which, in this case, it was an impressively large one). "I was just caught up in what an amazing place this is! I've never stayed somewhere so fancy, I can't help but feel just a _little_ out of place."

"Nonsense, so long as I'm here, you also belong here." Mistress Kaya assured her. "You and Teyo are welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thank you..." The gratitude was genuine, escaping Rat in a tiny, baffled gasp, but under the surface there was the cruel sting of reality that kept her from truly feeling like she could accept her offer.

 _Sure, I_ could _stay as long as I like- because no one would be able to tell I was here!_

It was a tempting thought, and would have been more enticing if it wasn't so closely linked to the other thing that was weighing down Rat's heart: Hekara. Back when she had been brought back from the dead, returned to them as a blood witch with all the glory and liveliness that came with such a title, Rat had probably been at her happiest. In those brief seconds as her dear friend cartwheeled onto the scene, probably more full of life than she had been the first time, Rat had been so overcome with joy she had nearly cried.

But, then her friend, the one person before Teyo and Kaya who could see her without having to focus or be told she was there- her closest, most _precious_ friend- looked straight through her, as if she hadn't even been there. Hekara, the girl who could see Rat better than her own parents could, no longer could see her. At the time, an awful thought swept through her mind like a harsh winter wind that left her chilled to the bone: that she wished Hekara had just stayed dead.

Recalling the memory made Rat feel sick to her stomach, but she managed to keep it and the resulting grimace she wanted to make down as her and Mistress Kaya continued to talk, as if nothing was wrong.

"Teyo will be super happy to hear that. Just walking through the halls of this place, he looked like a kid at a carnival." Rat joked. "I mean, I'm not used to this level of luxury, but at least I can pick my jaw off the floor every once in a while. I just wish I could have seen him getting to see a fully decked-out lavatory for the first time, he probably lost his mind over the toilet."

"When he asked me what a shower was, I thought I was hearing things, and _then_ I thought he was trying to make a joke." Mistress Kaya laughed along with her. "I guess I'm so picky and choosy with where I wind up kicking up my feet, I forget that there are places in the multiverse that don't have simple luxuries."

"Do you have plans on where you plan to 'kick up your feet' next?" Rat asked. Mistress Kaya paused in surprise over the question, seeming to mull it over in her head as she crossed her arms and hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, I did take that oath, so I suppose there will be a time where the Gatewatch will need my help, or at least, I _hope_ they'd need my help. I wouldn't want to have made that whole speech for nothing." She sighed, resting her chin in an upturned palm. "When I was just an assassin working for myself, I usually just stuck around big cities like this, with lots of corruption and a lot of people willing to spare the coin to keep things that way. But, now, who knows where my next destination is, it could be familiar territory, or it could be somewhere I've never been to. It's exciting, but it's scary all at the same time."

"You don't strike me as the type to get scared- you're one of the bravest people I know, Mistress Kaya." Rat complimented, to which Mistress Kaya chuckled under her breath.

"Oh, I get scared, trust me, even a ghost assassin can get spooked from time to time." She said as she stretched her hands up towards the ceiling, staring at the light through the spaces between her fingers. "You don't know how scared I am right now, in fact. The weight of all the debts I took on when I became guildmaster is so heavy, I'm afraid it will crush me in my sleep. I'm even more afraid it's going to shackle me here forever, and that I won't be able to travel the multiverse again. It's just going to be me, this stuffy guild in this cramped, claustrophobic city. Forget going and hunting Liliana Vess, forget helping the Gatewatch, forget taking Teyo back to Gobakhan, forget _all of it_. So long as I'm like this, I'm as good as planebound."

"I don't think staying on Ravnica is all that bad..." Rat mentioned. "Plus, you're living in the lap of luxury- nice food, great service, _plumbing_."

 _And I'll always be here with you_ , she added in her head, but couldn't bring herself to say aloud.

"Yeah, and a guild that doesn't trust me and a library's worth of politics I don't understand." Mistress Kaya listed off. "I'm always going to be an unwelcome outsider, and I'm always going to feel like one. Once you get a taste of the Blind Eternities, everywhere seems like a prison if you stay there too long, even your own home..."

"That sounds awful..." Rat said, feeling a worrying bitterness begin to build up in her heart once again. "... _I can't even imagine_."

"Rat, is something-"

"It's official, showers are probably my new favorite thing!" Teyo, freshly emerging from the lavatory, with his hair still soaking wet and dressed in a robe similar to Mistress Kaya, exclaimed with a level of excitement that made even Rat smile and chuckle to herself.

"Sounds like somebody enjoyed himself." Mistress Kaya said teasingly.

"You don't understand, back on Gobakhan you'll be lucky if you wind up somewhere with a bath, and blessed with incredible wealth and status in order to have a toilet! But none of them are like anything I saw in there- Ravnica is something else!" Teyo attempted to explain his enthusiasm. "And showers... don't even get me started, those aren't even a concept back home! I could go on and on about how amazing indoor plumbing is, I need one of you two to stop me!"

"Why would we, it's honestly cute watching you over-react to things." Rat laughed as she hopped to her feet. She couldn't quite match Teyo's awe-struck energy, but she was still very excited for a nice, thorough shower, herself. "Next thing I know, you're going to be going on about how the towels in the bathroom are more impressive than the most advanced magic you've seen."

"... Okay, but they were really nice towels, though." He admitted. "Everything here is either the most terrifying thing I've seen in my life, or the most amazing."

"And that's only after a few days of being stuck here- imagine the sights you wound see if you stuck around." Rat mentioned. "I could show you all around the city, to places some people who don't have my lock-picking skills could only _dream_ of going. We could make a real fine duo, maybe even partners in crime!"

"Oh, I can't even begin to- but as fun as it sounds, I've been away a little too long. I can only imagine the remaining folks who don't think I'm dead are worried." He chuckled meekly. "We'll have to put a pin in whatever crimes you have planned for some other time, when I get a chance to return."

"Boo, you're no fun!" Rat playfully jeered as she passed him, sticking out her tongue. "So eager to go running back to the boring dessert without any toilets, I just might fall asleep if I stick around you for too long!"

"I don't know, if you ever lived through a diamondstorm, you would know that 'boring' isn't quite the word to use." Teyo said.

"Trust me, if you don't have a Rat with you, any place is as good as dull!" She chuckled. "You'll miss having me around soon enough, no diamond- or ruby, or sapphire or amethyst- storm is going to compare."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." He laughed as she took her leave, closing the door behind her. However, instead of heading down the hallway towards the bathroom, she leaned against the door, listening in to the conversation that continued after she had left. She pressed her ear right up against the polished wood, focusing on the muffled sound of voices on he other side.

"Is Rat alright? She's been acting a little... _odd_ since this afternoon." She could hear Mistress Kaya say.

"You noticed, too?" Teyo questioned. "It... could be she's just tired."

"It's not a very convincing explanation when _you_ don't even seem convinced, Teyo." Mistress Kaya scolded. "You two were talking about something back at the square, and she looked incredibly upset."

_Oh, no, she saw that? And she didn't even say anything!?_

"She's upset that we're going to leave her behind, since we're planeswalkers and she, well, _isn't_." Teyo divulged, his voice sounding like he was uncomfortable sharing such information. "To be honest, I feel pretty awful about it, but I didn't want to add to stress you're probably already under."

"It's something you have to get used to as a planeswalker." Mistress Kaya sighed. "There will always be people who you won't be able to take with you. You'll form bonds with people, and you'll always promise to return, but... eventually you accept that some relationships are fleeting, especially for us. You treasure the friendships you make, while you're around, with the caveat that you might only see them a handful more times, or even just once- it's how things are for planeswalkers."

Rat, unable to take hearing any more, pried herself away from the door. An ache now accompanied every heavy heartbeat as she turned and walked down the hall, clutching her chest. She wanted to run and to escape into the night, into the comforting embrace of the city that had raised her. Instead, she only made it as far as the bathroom, the only thing keeping her within the walls of the tower of Orzhova being the fear that, if she simply left, there would be no Teyo or Mistress Kaya if she ever returned.

 _Seems I'm just a temporary thing in everyone's lives..._ Rat mournfully thought. _Temporary to Teyo, who has a home he'd rather return to, temporary to Mistress Kaya, who has no real attachments to me or to Ravnica. Temporary to my parents who couldn't see me all the time, even when I was around, Temporary to Hekara..._

She shook her head vigorously, feeling her lip begin to quiver. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry, not while Mistress Kaya and Teyo were still around. She wanted to hold onto her fleeting happiness with them in her tight, tight grip for as long as she could, and tears would only help to wash that happiness away faster. Even if Teyo had more attachment to Gobakhan, even if Mistress Kaya had no attachments at all, and even though her heart felt like it was getting stabbed over and over again with a dull knife, Rat told herself over and over again that she wouldn't cry.

 _Don't cry,_ she told herself as she stripped herself and tossed her clothes onto the floor.

 _Don't cry,_ she insisted as she stepped into the shower and under the steady stream of warm water.

 _Don't cry,_ she frustratingly commanded herself as she tried to busy herself with washing the dirt and the exhaustion that clung to her like it was a grime from off of her body.

 _Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry, don't you_ dare _cry you filthy, no good, insignificant-_

A hand that wasn't her own suddenly reached out, surprising Rat enough to make her sharply gasp as she was torn from her thoughts. Covering herself feebly, she whipped around to find the chief servitor of the Orzhov guildmaster, Madame Blaise, had turned off the water while Rat was still in the middle of her shower. She had half a mind to be furious, but it took hardly half a second to remember that Madame Blaise probably couldn't even see her standing bare-ass in the shower. She had been hanging around Teyo and Mistress Kaya, who could see her with no problem at all, for so long that her total insignificance to most everyone else had almost completely slipped her mind.

She considered possibly pulling a prank on the chief servitor, mostly out of frustration but, in the end, Rat came to the conclusion of that being something she'd rather do with her clothes on, invisible or not.

"Does that boy have any manners?" She muttered to herself as she bent down to pick up Rat's clothes. "Leaving the water running, throwing clothes all over the floor- I've served alleged criminals who had better sense!"

 _He didn't know what a shower was until a few minutes ago, cut him some slack!_ Rat thought, knowing full well she had been the one to turn the water on and the one who threw her clothes on the floor- Madame Blaise certainly wouldn't be able to even hear her confession, so she kept silent as she watched her leave.

"Filthy..." She muttered to herself, looking at Rat's clothes she held in her arms as she left. Turning down the hall, she vanished out of sight, leaving Rat to stand in the bathroom alone, soaking wet. At first, she stood in silence, letting it all sink in, before her shoulders shook a small bit.

"Heh..." She gave a small, insignificant chuckle that quickly rose to the level of uncontrollable laughter as she leaned against the marble wall and sank down to the ground. It was all very funny, wasn't it, that Madame Blaise hadn't even seen her and had shut off the shower while she was still inside? The fact she had been left to assume that clothes clearly fitted for a young girl belonged to Teyo and that she was more than likely off to go scold him for something he hadn't done only increased the hilarity. It was, inherently, extremely comedic so...

Why had her laughter made way for tears?

**Ral Zarek**

The later in the day it got, the more Ral began to accept that there was little he could do besides wait. There was very little that he, by himself, could devise in a single day on how to track Dovin Baan. He could now only hope that the council would at least send him away with some aid with whom he could exhaust every single known outpost of Baan's. The thought of having to locate him was starting to feel more annoying and tedious than dangerous, and he could only imagine how long it would take.

 _Might as well focus on enjoying myself tonight,_ he thought.

He and Tomik had retired to their apartment in Dogsrun, both of them thoroughly exhausted and practically dragging their feet once they made it through the door. It felt like years since they both had gotten a moment to return home and relax, and coming back to their apartment after spending so much time away- most of that time thinking they'd never have a chance to return- felt like something akin to a blessing.

After a brief rest, finding some time to catch his breath after days of feeling like he had been holding it, Ral drew a bath, wanting nothing more than to soak away every ache that clung to his muscles that felt like they were stuck in a permanent state of tensing up. A nice, long, soapy soak sounded absolutely perfect- well, _almost_ perfect anyway. There was one last thing he needed to make it just right and that thing- or rather person- was holed up in the kitchen.

Tomik had immediately gone to work the second they arrived, disappearing and reappearing from his study hauling out arm-fulls of books- so many that Ral had to wonder where he'd been keeping them. The kitchen table was nothing more than a memory underneath the impressive collection of law books, all of them open and getting equal amounts of attention from the studious lawmage who shifted from book to book and flipped through pages almost as if he had established some sort of internal rhythm. He could be heard muttering to himself, words just barely passing through his lips in tiny, mumbled whispers. Standing at the entrance to the kitchen, Ral kept quiet at first as he watched his lover, unable to help himself from thinking there was something oddly cute about Tomik whenever he got particularly caught up in his work.

"You know, now that the end of the world has been postponed, I figured you'd finally give yourself a second to relax." He finally spoke up, laughing as he approached Tomik from behind and rested a hand on the back of his chair. He leaned over, glancing at each book long enough to establish the text was much to small and full of legal jargon to understand.

"Trust me, after the hell we've been through, working from the comfort of our own home _is_ relaxing." Tomik sighed, flipping three more pages of three separate books in quick succession. "Plus there's not a lot of time to sit down and breath when my guildmaster is going to be forced to take a journey tomorrow that might very well wind up killing her."

"I guess Kaya does have an extra little hurdle to jump over than everyone else- I can't imagine what being saddled with all those debts is like." Ral nodded. "What are you thinking of doing? You're halfway through a lot of those books, surely you've at least come up with something."

"So far I only have one idea, but at least it's something- all that remains is finding the right loopholes." Tomik explained. "If she wants to be able to planeswalk without suffering some horrible consequence, Kaya needs to be free of her Orzhov obligations."

"I could have sworn you actually liked having Kaya as a guildmaster- unless you've changed your mind and actually do prefer Teysa..."

"No, Kaya's a perfect fit and I still stand by that, but she's going to be of no help in benefiting the Syndicate if she's dead." Tomik groaned, drumming his fingers against his cheek thoughtfully. "Not to mention Kaya is our friend, and it's only natural that I want to help her, even if it means losing what could be the answer to a lot of Orzhov's longstanding problems."

"And here I thought Orzhov lawmages were all just stuck-up." Ral teased.

"Oh, hush." Tomik chuckled with a roll of his eyes. "I feel I'm close to a breakthrough, maybe I'll be able to get a little rest before having to meet with Kaya tomorrow, after all."

"Why not take a little break now?" Ral suggested with a wiggle of his brow. "I have just the thing to treat you to for putting in all this work."

"Ral, can it not wait?" Tomik asked as he felt Ral transfer his hand from his chair to his shoulder, his fingers gently massaging his muscles.

"Well, the bathwater certainly can't, unless the idea of a cold bath sounds enticing." Ral said. "The books can wait an hour or two, I promise they'll still be right here where you left them once I'm done borrowing you for the evening."

"It's not just the books that are waiting on me finding an answer, you know." Tomik argued softly. It was easy to tell he was fighting against the urge to say 'yes'.

"Kaya's not the only one whose going to go off on a dangerous mission tomorrow, you know." Ral mentioned with a smirk. "Don't you think we should spend a little time together before _I'm_ sent off?"

"Ral, you're being sent after a _blind man_."

"A blind man who probably planned years in advance for that very scenario! And even if I do get the upper hand, there's little doubt he has a back-up plan, and a back-up plan for his back-up plan." Ral explained, albeit with an air of over-exaggeration. "Who knows when the next time we'll have a moment like this, together, will be."

"Fine, fine, you win, but only because I love you." Tomik said with a tired laugh as he slowly stood up from his chair.

" _Especially_ because you love me." Ral corrected playfully, resting his hands briefly on Tomik's hips and kissing his cheek before the two of them left the kitchen together.

It wasn't long after pulling Tomik away from his studies that the two of them were in the bath together, the soapy water rising to the level where it spilled over the sides. Ral sighed contentedly as he snuggled up to Tomik who sat directly behind him. Feeling his bare chest pressed against his back and his arms wrapped around him was honestly much more soothing than the actual bath itself. It was almost a shame that the water would eventually grow cold, since he considered he wouldn't mind staying like that forever.

"To think we almost lost this..." He sighed. "

"To think I almost lost you- _several times_!" Tomik added.

"What can I say- I guess I'm just attracted to danger." Ral chuckled as he turned his head to look at his beloved out of the corner of his eye, and so that he could catch his smile. "Well, that and you, of course."

"Is that you're way of calling me boring?" Tomik asked with a grin.

"Not boring... I'd be more inclined to call it safe." Ral corrected as he nuzzled against him. "And after everything we just went through, I could honestly do with a healthy helping of 'safe'."

It was still amazing to Ral that he and Tomik had made it out after so many had lost their lives. Domri Rade, Dack Fayden, Gideon Jura- so many had died in the blink of an eye, hardly without a single warning. He supposed that was the cruel nature of war, and that it took indiscriminately, and without mercy. It left Ral unsettled to think that it could have just as easily been him or, even worse, Tomik, who could have died without even having a chance to see one another one last time. What was worse was that even though the war was over, Ravnica wasn't without her dangers. The plane was still just as dangerous a place as it had always been, where you were one wrong turn down the wrong, shadowy street from being dealt an unfortunate hand.

If anything, in the wake of Nicol Bolas' assault, Ral was left with a sense of urgency that refused to be downplayed like it used to. The whole tragedy had opened Ral's eyes to his own mortality, and how easily things could go catastrophically wrong- and how he could just as easily lose the most important thing in his life.

"Hey, Tomik..." Ral spoke up, waiting for his lover to answer but only getting silence in return. "... Don't tell me you fell asleep on me."

"I'm listening." Tomik answered languidly.

"I've been thinking... I have been for a while, but more recently I've been thinking a whole damn lot."

"Sounds _dangerous_." Tomik playfully taunted.

"Tomik, will you marry me?"

"R-Ral-?"

"Sorry, obviously I didn't have a lot of time recently to go ring shopping, and to be honest I've never been much of a ring guy, anyway. You know how much electricity those things can accidentally generate, especially when a single spark can be a huge problem? I-"

"Ral, _stop_!" Tomik gasped, resting a hand on Ral's shoulder. "Where is this all coming from!?"

"Would it be corny of me to say from my heart?" Ral asked with a nervous chuckle. "You've been my lover for ages, and it's not like our relationship is much of a secret anymore. I love you, Tomik, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you! I don't want to wind up in a situation where I'm left to regret that I never became more than just your lover, and I want to live to get the chance to call you, well, my _husband_."

Ral shifted around, water sloshing out of the tub as he turned to face Tomik, who's face was now as red as a tomato, and not just from the temperature of the water. Ral had little doubt that he was blushing just as much, so he had zero room to tease, even if the timing was right for such things.

"Ral I... Of all the places to do this, the bath was honestly an interesting spot." Tomik gaped, clearly struggling to find a response.

"Sorry, I guess I could have picked a better chance... But you know I have no patience." Ral admitted. "You don't have to give me an answer right now, I know you have enough on your plate as it is, a marriage proposal is enough to wildly throw off the scales."

"You think?" Tomik sounded winded.

"Once I'm finished with dealing with Dovin Baan, and this whole ordeal is finally put to rest, I'll ask you again- fully clothed, I promise. I hope that gives you enough time to think about your answer." Ral said.

"I... yeah, that should give me some time to think." Tomik nodded. "It's a really big step, even if we weren't in opposing guilds."

"And it's a step, even as the Izzet League guildmaster, that I'm willing to take." Ral said as he took Tomik's hands, who allowed him to do so with almost no resistance. "But... no matter what you decide, that isn't going to change that I love you."

"I love you, too." Tomik said back with an incredible amount of fondness.

Any more words the two of them could have shared melted between their lips as they shared a passionate kiss: a quiet assurance that, no matter what they were, be it husbands or just lovers, the way they felt would remain unchanged.

**Rat**

" _She's right here._ " Both Teyo and Mistress Kaya spoke in unison as they swept their hands right above Rat's head. Madame Blaise squinted her eyes and thoughtfully pressed her fingers to her lips as she attempted to see the girl standing hardly an arms length away. Rat fought hard against the desire to playfully make a face, even though she was more than confident that she wouldn't be seen.

"I'll give her credit for trying, usually people just accept that I'm here and they can't see me and just go about their business like I'm not around." Rat said as she tilted her head in the same direction Madame Blaise did as she continued to try and accomplish perceiving her. "It's almost sweet, really."

"We promise we're not lying- that was her in the shower and her clothes you picked up." Teyo, who absolutely had been blamed for both things, attempted to convince her.

"She says she appreciates the effort." Mistress Kaya added. "People who learn about her condition usually just accept things as they are."

"The poor dear..." Madame Blaise sighed as she straightened back up, placing her hands on her hips. "... I certainly hope this isn't some sort of trick. I'll have you know I'm not a fan of being made to look foolish."

"And I promise, I would never even hope to do that-"

"I would." Rat chuckled.

"-And neither would she." Mistress Kaya finished her sentence firmly, casting a quick warning glare in Rat's direction, who flippantly raised her hands in surrender. "She really is right here, she's lived her entire life with this..." She paused, turning to Rat.

"Curse of Insignificance."

"Curse of Insignificance. It renders her invisible to most people- its honestly a wild coincidence that both me and Teyo can see her so clearly."

"It usually takes a lot of practice." Rat added.

"She says it takes practice to possibly see her- I've encountered a person or two who can tell she's around if they really focus." Teyo repeated.

"Well, if she's one of the Mistress' acquaintances, I'll do my very best to be among those people. If she's- _oh!_ " Madame Blaise seemed to catch herself as she turned to look in Rat's general direction, her gaze settling just barely higher than Rat's actual height. "I mean, if you're to be a returning guest here, I'd hate for you to feel as if you were being ignored."

"Oh, uh.. thanks." Even though she was sure Madame Blaise couldn't hear her, Rat couldn't keep herself from showing her gratitude. A small bit of warmth bloomed in her chest from being directly acknowledged by someone other that Mistress Kaya or Teyo.

"She appreciates it." Mistress Kaya said with an approving smile.

"Until then, I'll make sure to inform the staff. I assure you, this isn't the strangest thing we've encountered, and I'll personally make sure that her needs are attended to as well." Madame Blaise continued before turning to Rat one last time, this time her gaze falling somewhere around Rat's mid-section (to which Rat couldn't quite decide if she should appreciate for her effort, or feel a little slighted Madame Blaise thought she was that short). "I'm sorry for earlier in the lavatory, Mistress Rat."

"It's uh- … it's fine. I'm kinda used to it." Rat attempted to wave off, unable to help from sounding a little uncomfortable about the incident. She had returned to Mistress Kaya's chambers making very sure to keep from looking like she hadn't come back from having a minor break down in the bathroom, which had been an easy feat to pull off. But having the incident that kicked the whole ordeal off brought up again managed to drag a negative feeling or two back up to the surface.

"She accepts the apology." Mistress Kaya said for Madame Blaise's benefit.

"I'll see to it her clothes are washed- I'm not sure what the poor dear has been up to, but they were absolutely covered in vines..."

"Oh, no, please tell her not to mess with those! That vine belt was a gift from my godfather who didn't want me to wind up going hungry. There are berries that grow from that and let me tell you, they've saved my butt from starving more than once!" Rat quickly spoke up, which Mistress Kaya relayed with just as much urgency.

After a brief back and forth over how to properly care for Rat's clothes, Madame Blaise departed, promising to return shortly with their clothes so that they could get changed for dinner. Rat's mouth involuntarily watered at the thought, figuring that whatever was going to be prepared would be leagues better than anything she had eaten in recent memory, and most likely more than one course. She clung to the promise of a fancy, filling meal like a buoy in a harsh, stormy tide, knowing that pretty much everything else most likely would lead to-

"Rat, is something wrong?" Mistress Kaya asked, before quickly adding, "and don't you lie to me."

"I'm fine, why would I lie?" Rat asked with a weak chuckle. "Can't a girl just be a little tired and hungry? And maybe I'm just a little worried that Madame Blaise is going to try her hand at pruning my vine belt- but I swear, that's all it is."

"But you said-" Teyo began to interject before Mistress Kaya cut him off harshly.

"If it's about us being planeswalkers, I think you'd feel a lot better if we all sat down and talked about it. We're your friends, Rat, no matter what, and you can tell us anything- especially about something that's bothering you."

Rat's blood ran cold as the smile she wore suddenly became harder to maintain. It was a rare sensation, but she felt a sense of stage fright as her two friends looked back at her with concern. Something inside her wanted to use the potential conversation to her advantage, deeply tempted by the notion that she could easily manipulate the both of them if she laid on the sobbing and the tears extra thick. She could make Teyo feel guilty about wanting to return home. She could make Mistress Kaya feel bad for seeing no issue with her level of detachment from Ravnica and from her. The steps she could take couldn't have been laid out more clearly.

"Oh, gosh, did Teyo tell you about that!? Now I feel bad, I didn't mean for what I said to come across like that!" She gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth dramatically as she played up her embarrassment. "That was just a side comment, I didn't actually mean for it to worry you. _Sheesh,_ lighten up a little, I thought all the grim doom and gloom nonsense was behind us!"

"Rat, come on, there's no need to-" Teyo began to say as he reached out in an attempt to try and rest his hand on Rat's shoulder. Much to his surprise, she reached up and caught it, grasping his hand in her own mere inches away from her shoulder.

She didn't want him touching her. She didn't want to feel that fleeting warmth of a hand that would soon be out of her reach for what was probably going to be a considerable length of time- her insides churned at the thought of it possibly even being _forever_. She didn't want his kindness if he was just going to vanish into the aether where she couldn't follow. Keeping him, as well as Mistress Kaya, at arms length for the night, seemed almost necessary.

" _I'm fine_." She insisted, unable to keep her words from sounding cold as they escaped, each one feeling like a physical push that sent him taking a few small steps backward as she let go of his hand. For a moment, her bitterness shone through, but she quickly wiped it away with a smile. "If you want to concern yourself with something, maybe focus on whether or not you'll have enough room in your stomach to fit all the fantastic food we'll be having for dinner. Something tells me you don't have a lot of feasts out in Big Desert Nowhere."

"Gobakhan." Teyo corrected.

"I know what I said." Rat replied.

Mistress Kaya and Teyo exchanged a look, both of them frowning and furrowing their brows at different levels of intensity, but they either couldn't find the words to say or didn't want to.

"Personally, I might find a way to smuggle some food out to eat for later, but that's just a force of habit." Rat continued to fill the void. "It's not every day I actually get personally invited to such a nice place- usually open windows and easily-pick-able locks do that. I'm planning to make the most out of this visit, while I can."

"Rat, you know I'm the Orzhov guildmaster, you're welcome to visit Orzhova any time you want." Mistress Kaya offered, to which Rat scoffed, her grin twitching slightly.

"But only when you're around, right? That Madame Blaise is an awfully sweet woman, but it's not like she and the rest of the staff on hand can see me and let me in."

An awkward silence fell between the trio, words very clearly on the tips of their tongues, being held at bay by clenched teeth behind tightly-closed lips. It became so quiet, they could hear the growing activity coming from the floors below as Mistress Kaya's servants went about preparing for dinner. All of them wanted to speak up, but at the same time, all of them seemed afraid to.

"W-well... enough standing around, then." Surprisingly, it was Teyo who spoke up, breaking the silence as he tried to wrestle what had become an incredibly tense situation and drag it back to reality. "We should really be getting ready for dinner- I'm _starving._ "

"Thinking with your stomach, I like it!" Rat perked up. "If you get blown away by showers, just wait until you get a taste of the grub they serve here! You'll forget all about Gobakhan and emraldstorms!"

"Diamond-" Teyo began to correct her again before shaking his head. "Never mind."

**Vraska**

The coffee Vraska had prepared eventually ran dry, and in it's place, her and Jace's cups became filled with wine. Her head felt a bit fuzzy as she stared down at her half-empty glass, the ghost of a chuckle escaping her lips as she sloshed it around. A lull finally came over their conversation, which surprisingly had almost been non-stop. They had talked and talked all throughout the evening, and it was getting to the point where she had started to notice she was forcing the conversation to perpetually continue. If Jace were any less of a man of his word, he would have been easily able to figure that out ages and glasses of wine ago.

She didn't want the conversation to end. She didn't want the _night_ to end. But she also feared having it go any further than just wine and conversation. She was confident she could put up a confident front, and from her extended time on Ixalan she knew she could easily out-drink Jace, at the very least, but she had felt as if she were walking an unsteady tightrope that hung above everything that she wanted and everything that could possibly transpire. She wanted to be open and share everything with him, both in words and more physical aspects, but at the same time she couldn't and held herself back.

"You honestly should have seen it, you would have gotten a real kick out of Gideon teaching me to throw a punch." Jace laughed between sips. He seemed to be especially latching on to tales of his late friend, but that was hardly surprising, as much as Vraska wished that he wouldn't. She could see how broken up Jace appeared whenever he spoke his name aloud and could hear a slight tremble in his voice. His time as the Living Guildpact had made Jace a passable public speaker, but he wasn't perfect- not enough to fool Vraska, anyway. "The patience he must have had to coach me that many times about how to properly make a fist... I don't even think I've gotten into that many fistfights since then, to tell the truth."

"There was a brawl or two on Ixalan, but I have to admit, I'd like to see you go one-on-one with someone and put all those fist-making lessons to the test." She teased.

"I'm decent with a blade, too, you know- although I'm sure I've gotten rusty." Jace said, appearing to wax nostalgic. "It's been ages."

"You? Fighting with a blade? Where did you pick that up?" Vraska raised a brow curiously. "Was it on Ixalan, or with Gideon?"

"Oh, no, _much_ farther back than that." Jace chuckled, gazing down into his nearly-empty glass. "It was Kallist who taught me that."

"Ah, right, him. I suppose these days, stuff that far back feels almost like a dream." Vraska said, peering at Jace from over her glass as she took another, tiny sip. She knew about Kallist from when she'd done a lot of considerable digging into Jace's past, long before Ixalan and _long_ before the two of them could stand to sit at the same table and drink together. Kallist had been one in a long line of people who Jace had met, who met with a rather unfortunate fate. According to her research, he had died after what seemed to be a long stint of impersonating his friend while on the run from the long-defunct Infinite Consprtium: a group that, wouldn't she know it, was headed by Tezzeret.

"Looking back at it now, it honestly doesn't feel real. It feels like something I dreamed up, after all the things I've seen since then." Jace sighed. "Kallist, Gideon... maybe I'm a little drunk, but losing them both almost seems poetic in a sense. I never got the chance to really let them know just how much they meant to me... in the end I even have to wonder if either of them knew..."

"... Jace, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." Vraska brought up. "It's not something that needs to be brought up, especially when you've been drinking."

"If I don't talk about it now, I don't think I ever will. I'll keep these things to myself, just like I do with everything else, like they're secrets I can't tell anyone." Jace muttered. "I'm so sick of keeping secrets..."

His words resonated within Vraska like a loud, prevalent echo. They were so relevant to how she felt that she wondered if he wasn't actually reading her thoughts, but she dared not let it show.

"I am, too." She said wholeheartedly. "What's the point in us keeping things from each other, when they're only going to weigh us down. Why not carry our burdens together, and keep one another's secrets? I have to keep myself at a distance from everyone else, and have to deal in the shadows out of sight of all the other guilds, but with us... there's no need for us to hide."

"I'd like that." Jace said, a genuine smile stretching across his lips. "That almost sounds too good to be true, since I think _all_ of my relationships are built on secrets. It's the kind of person I am, after all."

"It doesn't have to be." Vraska insisted. "You don't have to if you don't want but... you can share anything with me, even without the wine. It shouldn't take a night of drinking to feel like you can open up about how you're hurting."

She felt like the biggest hypocrite on Ravnica in that moment (which was honestly saying a lot, knowing the city down to it's filthy core) but they were words that she felt needed to be said. Maybe after her business with Tezzeret, maybe she'd be able to live by them herself. Just one more little secret, one last little thing kept in the dark, and then she would be free... right?

"Whenever you need, if it's something that's eating you, you can come to me when the rest of your little hero club doesn't seem like an option." She continued as she stood up, steadying herself on the table, but quickly finding her footing. The way he looked at her when she spoke, with eyes so trusting, made her feel less like a liar. It almost made her believe that she wasn't still a little bit rotten, down in her core where she trusted Jace wouldn't search. It almost made her believe that she really, truly, could share anything with him, even though deep down she knew she couldn't. "We'll share everything with each other: secrets, frustrations, tears, a good drink..."

She paused, having slowly made her way around the table so that she could stand beside him. Ever-so-gently, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and allowed him to turn and place his own on her hips. With a soft chuckle she reached up, brushing hair out of his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Who knows... maybe we'll even share a bed one day."

"V-vraska!" Jace gasped, his face growing tellingly red. Maybe if he were a little more sober, he would have processed the concept with a little more grace, but his obvious, almost clumsy shyness at the thought made Vraska feel at ease, so she merely regarded his reaction with a playful smirk and a chuckle as she delicately traced her fingers down his face. They danced along his cheek and came to rest on his jawline.

"Karlov's Ghost, Jace, I wasn't suggesting we do anything _tonight_ , especially since both of us have been drinking. You'll have to settle for the couch for a good while, and be satisfied with kisses." She spoke teasingly, but much to her surprise Jace seemed practically relieved at the notion, and hardly did much of anything to hide an obvious sigh. "I think you'll find I'm perfectly happy with taking things slow."

"No... trust me, I could use slow." Jace laughed. "And I could _definitely_ use trust... thank you."

Vraska swallowed back a guilty frown, choosing to acknowledge Jace's words of thanks with a nod, knowing full well she couldn't fully accept them.

"Once everything settles, let's both take a trip. I think I can speak for the both of us when I say that we need a little vacation." She said instead, throwing the suggestion out there to try and divert the conversation away from trust she felt she couldn't completely accept. She could see Jace's eyes light up at the notion, clearly concocting something of a plan in his wine-addled brain. "Could it be you already have somewhere in mind?"

"Vryn." The word immediately escaped him hardly a second after Vraska had asked. "... That is, if you don't mind. I admit, I've been anxious to go, now that I have my memories back, and I admit, it's not the most romantic destination, so feel free to weigh in with-"

"Vryn sounds perfect." Vraska cut him off with a smile. "I'd be more than happy to keep you company while you stroll down memory lane."

"I'd like that... to be honest, I'm a little afraid, but having you there will make things much easier..." Jace paused, daring to reach around so his hands were planted more on her back as he carefully pulled her a bit closer. "I'd also like those kisses you mentioned, if you don't mind."

"Sounds like the wine is making you a little bold." Vraska said with a laugh as she bent forward, leaning in close enough so that her and Jace were nose-to-nose. "Lucky for you, I still have kisses to spare."

**Teyo**

Beside Rat, who ate like she had been starving, gushing about and praising every single bite she took, Teyo felt like he wasn't enjoying his meal enough. But, just like she had said, every dish from every course was more amazing than the last. He couldn't even fathom up the words to even _begin_ to describe the tastes mingling on his tongue. The food back home would almost certainly taste blander than it had originally for years to come after just one meal served at Kaya's table. It was a fine going-away present, as well as a strange, bitter curse.

"You really have to hand it to the chefs the Orzhov have on hand, they really do know their way around a good meal! Even when I stole it, I don't think I've ever eaten such delicious food!" Rat complimented with her mouth absolutely full of tart. "Like, forget theft, I'd probably have to kill to get a plum tart this good in normal situations."

"Rat, I'm sure there's a time and a place to discuss petty crime and murder in the same sentence, and I don't think it's in Kaya's dining room." Teyo scolded her lightly.

"Fair enough, we'll have to discuss our tart-robbing-spree-slash-homicide after dinner." Rat joked, taking another impossibly large bite of her tart. It was almost like a snake unhinging it's jaw and swallowing an entire egg whole.

"I'd hardly call it 'my dining room'. It belongs to me as much as the Orzhov Syndicate does- which is to say, I'm a trespasser who gained squatter's rights." Kaya sighed, hardly having touched her food- not that she had been given much of a chance.

All throughout their meal, they had been visited by one high-ranking official within the Syndicate after another, each coming to "pay their respects", or so was the formal term. In reality it was more like a parade of finely-dressed people come to try and intimidate Kaya in the most subtle of ways. They spun pretty words laced with poison, but not enough to where what they said could be seen as a threat. At first, she seemed to tolerate them, but now, several visitors "paying respects" to their guildmaster later, she seemed absolutely put off of both her food and existing in the dining room in general.

"Oh, ignore all those stuffy nobodies, Mistress Kaya, you're guildmaster fair and square. They're just angry you got the title before they did, but they can eat dirt while you eat delicious plum tart." Rat huffed after swallowing her huge mouthful of food.

"I don't know, Rat, by the way they were dressed and their titles, I don't think they count as 'nobodies'." Teyo corrected nervously, casting a side-glace Kaya's way and catching her unsatisfied frown.

"And I don't want to be guildmaster! If I had the power, I'd hand this all over in a damn heartbeat!" She exclaimed. "I hate being guildmaster, to be perfectly honest. Nice living quarters, delicious food, attentive staff- I don't care what kind of luxuries this positions affords, if I have to stand around and get gently talked down to by people who would much rather see me fall than have to serve under me, I'll be more than happy to leave it all behind. The sooner I have a plan worked out to get free of this place so I can go assassinate Liliana Vess, the better. Hunting her down is going to feel like a luxury after all this- at least then I can manage myself however I please."

"About that..." Teyo brought up nervously. "... Do you really think it's best to just kill her? She's the one who killed Nicol Bolas in the end, don't you think she at least deserves a trial?"

"It's not about what I think, Teyo, it's about what Niv-Mizzet and the rest of the guilds think. They're the one's who get to make the decisions around here, and I'm not in any place to try and defy them- I can't even begin to imagine what they'd do to me then." Kaya groaned. "It will be much easier to find her and slit her throat than to try and convince her to come back here, where she's responsible for having taken gods know how many innocent lives, to stand trial."

"But... your oath-" Teyo argued.

"What about my oath!?" Kaya snapped. "Last I checked, this didn't have anything to do with the Gatewatch. If they need me, I'm sure my oath will be more than relevant, but this is a separate thing! This is me getting my freedom so I can live freely, and by that oath, alright!?"

Before Teyo had a chance to open his mouth, Madame Blaise entered once more, and the air around them became incredibly tense as the both of them waited for her to announce yet another member of the Syndicate who had come by to further sour the meal. There was something a little different about the usually put-together chief-servitor this time around, looking a little more flustered than before. She wore a sharp frown that matched Kaya's, and Teyo couldn't help but feel curious as to the reason why.

"Mistress, it would seem you have another-" She began, sounding incredibly grumpy behind her forced respectful tone.

"Well, well, _well_ , looks like you made it out alright, after all! I could have spent all the energy I used to worry about you on something more fun!" Forcing her way passed Madame Blaise, who reacted with a combination of frustration and barely-contained rage as she spun to keep from being completely knocked off her feet, Hekara made her entrance with hardly a fraction of the grace as their other visitors. She wore her blood witch uniform (if it could even be called such a thing) with incredible pride as she presented herself as if she were about to give some kind of performance instead of just barging in on their dinner.

"Miss, I told you to wait in the hallway!" Madame Blaise clearly attempted to sound calm, albeit through clenched teeth and obviously not looking calm at all.

"And? You didn't exactly say for how long, you should have been more specific." Hekara shrugged. "I don't need to be announced like some stuck-up official- not among friends, anyway."

"It's alright, Blaise." Kaya sighed, not exactly looking overjoyed to see Hekara, but at least appreciating her rude entrance more than the other company they had been graced with. "She's a... _friend_."

"What yer guildmaster said!" Hekara practically laughed in Madame Blaise's face before striding into the dining room, a quick run leading into an impressive show of cartwheels and flips that, in the end, wound up with her sticking her landing on the table and taking a strong step into Teyo's plum tart.

"You know... we didn't get much of a chance to really meet but... I can say with full confidence I'll probably miss you the least." Teyo commented, looking from his destroyed desert to Hekara's satisfied grin.

"S'okay with me- and I meant to do that anyway, I could smell that tart across the room and wanted a taste for myself." She smirked as she took a seat- not in a chair but right there on the table- so that she could pull her leg up and over her shoulder, contorting herself easily into a pose that seemed outright uncomfortable to Teyo just so she could lick the remains of his tart from off her shoe. "Delicious!"

Averting his gaze, Teyo instead looked to Rat, who looked up at her friend as if she were a malicious spirit. She had sunk low into her chair, no longer enjoying her food like she had been, with her fork discarded on the table. She looked like she was going to be sick, and Teyo had a strong feeling it wasn't just because she had eaten one too many tarts.

"Hekara, Rat is-" Kaya began to speak up, as Hekara responded to the mention of her friend as if she had just been prodded by hot tongs. Straightening up, the girl who had just forced her way in like she owned the place suddenly seemed on edge.

"Ah, right, Rat's probably here, too, silly me!" She laughed as she began looking up and down the dining table. There was a glimmer of hope in Rat's eyes as her gaze managed to fell on her with ease, but it was quickly evident she was able to find where Rat was sitting purely because there was a place set for her, and a mostly-eaten tart on her plate. The way she looked in Rat's direction seemed as if she looked right through her, and was simply looking in that direction instead of right at a person.

"Hekara..." Rat spoke, sounding sad enough that it hurt Teyo to hear. She sounded defeated and looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Please... don't..."

"I should be able to see her- I mean, I used to, so I should be able to if I try, right?" Hekara explained as she clearly began putting strain on herself. "I-I mean, she's my Rat, I know she's there, I just... need to concentrate, that's all. I guess getting yerself killed makes you a little rusty, right, Rat?"

"Stop..." Rat's words wavered now as she clutched at her stomach, like she had been stabbed.

"You're my Rat, and I'll always be your Hekara." She spoke over Rat's pleas, looking like she was starting to become just as upset as Rat was.

"I wouldn't bother." Teyo spoke up, feeling unable to take much more, and by the looks of it, Kaya was just about through of the display herself. "Rat left a while ago- as entertaining as it is watching you try and talk to an empty chair, all acts get old after a while."

"Is that so? Wow, you sure got me, I guess that's payback for the tart, huh? You're good, you're good!" Hekara laughed as she noticeably relaxed and heaved a long, drawn out sigh. "I'd much rather have you two have a little chuckle at my expense than have to face her, to be honest. I don't want to have to face the fact that... I'm just like everybody else now."

"Ral Zarek can see her if he focuses, I'm sure with time you'll be able to see her again." Kaya assured her.

"But I know doing that is going to hurt her... and more than that, it hurts me. It hurts me a whole lot, and lemme tell you, I have a really high tolerance- and maybe even a taste- for for pain." Hekara smiled bitterly. "I don't want either of us to hurt every time I see her... That's not nice, or fun... that's just flat-out cruel."

After a brief exchange and half-irritated words from Kaya, Hekara took her leave, practically shewed out by Madame Blaise. Teyo looked to Rat, to see how she was doing, but as he turned he came to find her seat was empty. He could only hope, as he gazed at her empty seat with a heavy heart, that she hadn't stuck around for too long to hear much of what Hekara had said.

**Chandra**

Sleep was the last thing on Chandra's mind that was still abuzz, even late into the night, as everyone else who had crowded into her and her mother's home once again were fast asleep. Her head was full of thoughts of Liliana, and Dovin Baan who had also escaped a satisfactory punishment, the funeral that crept ever closer... Gideon... and Nissa.

Sitting up in her mother's bed, she struggled to keep from groaning to keep from waking her, folding her arms and resting them on her drawn-up knees. She stared at the wall opposite the bed, her eyelids feeling heavy despite the fact she couldn't close them, and her body overcome with exhaustion even though something else actively fought against her desires to rest.

Everyone else seemed to be able to rest easy, no doubt with similar things on their minds, so why couldn't she? Why was her heart still pounding, and why were her thoughts still wildly racing? Something inside her wasn't satisfied but, try as she might, she couldn't figure out exactly what it was, and could only dream of solving it- that is, if she could even begin the process of dreaming at all.

With a defeated, quiet sigh, Chandra slowly shuffled off the bed and tip-toed out of the room and into the hall. She looked down the hall to the other bedrooms where the others were no-doubt sound asleep. She could tell, just by listening, that she was the only person awake in the whole house. Was she the only one troubled, or the only one hurting, too? Was she the only one, out of all of them, whose heart felt like it was being pulled in several directions? Part of her wanted to give up and just yell, waking everyone up so that she at least wouldn't be alone with her thoughts that refused to shut up, but instead she turned and walked the other way, arms wrapped around herself even though she wasn't the slightest bit cold.

On her way through the house, she spied Gideon's breastplate, carefully wrapped in leaves and left to rest on the kitchen table. She could spy a glimmer of the armor underneath the waxy leaves that almost seemed like it was calling out to her in the moonlight. But, as much as she wanted to pick it up and take it with her, she didn't want to risk damaging it- and what good would it do for her to cling to the last remaining piece of her once beloved companion? It was a piece of armor meant to protect... but in the end, clinging to it would only end up hurting her.

Unable to return back to her mother's room, not wanting to bother any one of her sleeping friends and wanting to put a considerable amount of distance between her and the remains of Gideon, she stealthily made her way onto the roof, the warm, salty night air hitting her in the face as she exited as a gentle breeze tossed her hair. She made her way to the edge, looking out over the scenery as she took a seat, giving her feet that, even still, managed to ache a little rest.

Aside from the odd light that dotted the cityscape, the entire rest of Kaladesh seemed to be asleep. Chandra envied the peace a little, wishing the inside of her head was just as quiet. Looking out over the tops of buildings and towards beautifully winding spires, the view that usually filled her heart with so much joy only succeeded in bringing her down- just like everything else.

"... Chandra?" A voice suddenly spoke, and Chandra nearly flew right over the edge of the roof as she leaped from her seat in surprise. Behind her stood Nissa, her usual braid a little loose from being slept in, dressed down enough so that she could sleep comfortably.

"Nissa!" Chandra exclaimed, blushing, trying her best to keep her voice down. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same question." The elf replied as she rubbed the last remaining bits of sleep from out of her eyes. "It's incredibly late..."

"I... I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd get some air!" Chandra explained. "Sorry if I woke you."

"It's alright, I wasn't getting much sleep, either." Nissa assured her with a calm smile as she joined Chandra at the edge of the roof and slowly took a seat at her feet. Chandra felt as if her crowded brain was keeping her from processing basic, human thought- or maybe it was how beautiful Nissa looked in the low light, stripped of most of her usual layers of clothes. It took Nissa looking up at her and patting the space beside her for Chandra to finally sit down as the two of them looked out at the sleeping city.

"If you want someone to talk to, I'm here to listen." Nissa spoke up after a short silence, reaching out so that her fingertips just barely brushed against Chandra's and leaving them to rest there.

"I-I don't want to overwhelm you." Chandra stammered. "If you could get inside my head right now, you'd probably get a headache."

"I can read you well enough to figure as much." Nissa said. "There's not much I can do to help, but I want to do what I can for you. That's what people who love each other do... don't they?"

"New to the whole love thing?" Chandra asked with a slight grin.

"In this context. Loving people is... different." The way she emphasized "different" boarded between uncomfortable and eager to learn as Nissa stared down at her lap. She seemed to be looking for the words to say, but was struggling to verbalize how she felt.

"... _Bad_ different?" Chandra dared to ask.

"No!" Much to Chandra's surprise, Nissa gasped loudly before quickly drawing away, impressively doing so while still keeping her hand close to Chandra's. "I-It's new... I know its love because it's like how I feel about Zendikar... but it's also different... I want to learn about this new love... with you."

"... Last chance to run before I raise the flood gates." Chandra offered, feeling her cheeks grow a little warm hearing Nissa say "love" so many times.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm putting down strong, sturdy roots, so nothing will sweep me away." Nissa said confidently.

Chandra took one, last look at Nissa's slight smile before gazing back out at the city. Not wanting to lead in with too much energy, she took a long, slow breath as she wriggled her fingers so that they were just barely laced with her companion's, who did noting to resist the small advance.

"I just wish the world could freeze, just for a second. Everything just keeps happening so fast, and everyone needs to be somewhere. It's like I'm swept up in a flood and I'm being carried away, but there's nothing to hold on to. But everyone seems to be swimming through it with such ease, accepting that Gideon is gone, and that Liliana is our enemy- and I can say I accept those things all I want, but I know I can't and instead I'm just... drowning." She moaned. "I need closure... but I'm afraid that, once I find it, I'll emerge a different person... colder... _distant_."

"You're not cold or distant, Chandra, and you never could be. You're warm and present, like the sun." Nissa assured her.

"Funny, that's how I saw Gids. He was my sun..." Chandra chuckled weakly. "We talked about going to Theros a lot, you know, to visit. Once we had a moment to breath, he said he'd show me so many beautiful places... but we never got that moment, and now I never will. I'll go to that plane that Gids wanted to show me so much, but only to bury him... and then I don't think I'll ever be able to go back."

"Saying goodbye is hard... the multiverse feels strangely different without him... like it's a little it more empty somehow..." Nissa agreed. "And... if it helps, I could try to be your sun."

"No!" Chandra found herself gasping, and Nissa looked back her with wide-eye'd shock. "I-I mean- that didn't come out right. What I meant was that you don't have to force yourself! You're more like... like a summer breeze, gentle and comforting. I loved Gids for what he was, and I love you for what you are, not what you can replace."

"Is that so?" Nissa said softly, seeming to be turning the thought over in her mind.

"I don't want this to be me leaning on you because Gids is gone- like you're my second choice and I want to be with you just so I can replace him." Chandra insisted as she leaned in close. Nissa reacted with surprise, but there was a burning inside Chandra's chest she couldn't suppress. "I've loved you long before all this... maybe since Zendikar, since we became the Gatewatch. You were never a second choice, or someone I was keeping in reserve."

"So you've already said-"

"And now I'm emphasizing it!" Chandra said with a nod. "My whole life is a mess right now, but I know my feelings for a fact!"

"... ah..." A tiny noise passed through Nissa's lips as she pulled away just a slight bit. Her cheeks were uncharacteristically flushed, so much that even in the dim light Chandra could tell she was blushing. She looked away, her brilliant green eyes flicking to one side.

"Sorry, sorry, that was a little too intense for you, wasn't it?" Chandra asked, feeling her own cheeks grow incredibly warm as she quickly pulled away, her hand finally separating from Nissa's. "I'm sorry- I warned you, but I'm still sorry."

"That's so very you, though, isn't it?" Nissa asked with a nervous smile. "And, if it's for you... maybe a little intensity wouldn't hurt."

Chandra watched, wide-eyed, as Nissa leaned in close after a brief hesitation, feeling like she was fighting back the compulsion to lean away. Not that there was nothing more in the world that would make Chandra more happy than a kiss, something about the situation seemed wrong, somehow- just off enough to unnerve her.

_Is she doing this because she wants to, or because she feels she has to? Should I tell her no? Would that ruin the mood!? Wow, her lips look really soft... hey wait is that-_

"I-isn't that Huatli and Saheeli?" Chandra pointed out, craning her neck to look over Nissa's shoulder as she watched the couple run through the streets with an incredible amount of purpose. Nissa perked up and looked down towards the street as well, looking hardly bothered or even relieved that their moment had been ruined.

"It would seem..." She said as they watched the two round a corner and vanish out of sight. "Where could they be going at this hour?"

In that moment, Nissa and Chandra found themselves on the same wavelength as they looked to one another in unison, the same glimmer of realization in their eyes.

" _Dovin Baan._ "

"Do they know where he is? Are they tracking him?" Nissa questioned as Chandra rose to her feet and offered her hand to help her up. She gladly took it and gasped in surprise as Chandra quickly yanked her to her feet.

"Don't know- but if they've found him, I want in on the action." Chandra insisted as she hurried back inside, trying her best to hurry downstairs while keeping quiet enough not to wake the whole house. Nissa, on the other hand, was so silent as she followed behind her, Chandra couldn't help but react in surprise to find the elf had tailed her all the way to the font door.

"Are you sure we should be going alone? Shouldn't we wake the others?" Nissa whispered.

"I missed my chance to finally kill that bastard back on Ravnica. It's not going to bring Gids back, and it's not going to bring things back to normal, but finally getting my chance to end him will at least lift some of this weight off my shoulders." Chandra quickly explained as she threw open the door. "The others are only going to slow me down."

"Chandra-"

"You can come if you want, I won't force you, but I'm not going to stand by if there's even a chance he's hiding somewhere on Kaladesh." Chandra added quickly as she stood impatiently in the doorway.

"I'm coming!" Nissa said with a nod, and without another word between the two of them, they both hurried in the direction Huatli and Saheeli had gone, leaving the rest of the Gatewatch behind.

Surprisingly, they weren't difficult to catch up with, with both of them taking a rest as Saheeli carefully inspected an ornate mechanical hummingbird, with Huatli taking an equally close look but clearly not understanding the finer mechanics of the tiny, gold filigree bird. They closed the distance between them so easily, with Huatli practically leaning on Saheeli's shoulder, who didn't seem to mind the weight at all. Despite the gravity of the situation, Chandra couldn't help but feel the tiniest pang of jealousy. Saheeli and Huatli came from completely different worlds, just like her and Nissa, and yet the two of them bridged the gap to easily and were obviously very close.

"Whose there!?" Huatli gasped as her and Nissa ran into view from out of the shadows.

"It's just us, we saw you both running from the roof." Chandra assured her as they ran to meet them. "What are you both doing out so late?"

"We could ask you the same question, but something tells me we're all here for the same man." Huatli nodded as she rested her hands on her hips.

"I've been monitoring Baan's old home since he abandoned it- I was starting to think it was a lost cause until just recently. My birds picked up some strange activity, which is a lot more than the nothing that's been turning up for months." Saheeli explained as she gently shook her hand and encouraged the tiny golden hummingbird to energetically flap it's wings and return to the air. "We more than welcome the company, there's always the chance we could be walking into a trap."

"Well, I'll be more than happy to burn it all to cinders if we wind up in one." Chandra said confidently. "Lead the way, we'll follow."

Under the cover of night, the four of them followed after Saheeli's hummingbird as it led them down streets and dark alleyways, no doubt programmed to take them in a route that Baan wouldn't be expecting them to come from. Along with admiring her handiwork, Chandra also couldn't help but notice that, somewhere along the way, Huatli, who led the party, had reached out to take Saheeli's hand to keep her from falling behind. It only took a side glance for Chandra to see Nissa was easily keeping up with her, matching her stride and more focused on running than on the other two's intimate hand-hold. Envy wasn't something Chandra expected to feel on a covert assassination mission, but there she was, feeling all kinds of green, on her way to potentially kill a man.

Dovin's home was hard to miss, with it's boarded-up windows and layers of crude graffiti covering the outside. Normally, in this sort of neighborhood, such things would have gotten painted over, but it seemed as if the local authorities was making an exception and were turning a blind eye to the defacement of the property of a wanted man.

 _It's a shame he was blinded, he would have gotten good and proper furious getting a look at all this,_ Chandra thought.

"Little point in standing around and waiting for him to open the door for us. Anyone want to do the honors of breaking in?" Huatli asked.

"Allow me." Nissa chimed in as she approached the door. With a swift, powerful kick, she handily separated the door from it's hinges, with whatever locks that were in place not standing a match against Nissa's strength. The door noisily crashed down into the entry way, and the four of them took no time in storming inside, the hope for making a stealthy entrance very much gone.

"I guess I should have expected you weren't going to pick the lock." Saheeli muttered under her breath as the crowded inside.

"She mentioned breaking in, but never mentioned how." Nissa stated in a matter-of-fact way as all four of them prepared to be met with a fight, or a trap or... _anything_. But, as they stood, ready for a scuffle, they were only met with silence, with hardly even an alarm going off to greet them. One by one, they all relaxed as Chandra summoned a fireball large and bright enough to light every dark corner of the hall

"Not much of a greeting..." She said as she took the lead into the house. "I'd still watch me step- who knows what Baan has lying-"

As she turned the corner, her boot immediately met with something that noisily clattered in response, cutting her off. With a gasp, Chandra looked down to see a thopter, sliced up and smashed to bits, hardly looking a thing like how it was originally designed. Now, it was just a sad pile of metal and gears.

"... Lying around..." Chandra suspiciously finished her sentence as she looked around the room, finding several more cases of the same utterly ruined thopters littering the dusty floor. Footprints could clearly be seen left behind in the months-worth of dust that had been left to settle, and by the looks of it, they belonged to just one person who had one hell of a time dismantling what were clearly the home's security system.

"What happened here...?" Huatli gasped as she walked deeper into the room, kicking thopters out of her way. "... You don't think someone's already come and done the job?"

"No, there's not a drop of blood left in this place." Saheeli said as she walked by a counter top and ran a single finger along the surface. It came away coated in a tick, grey dust that she wiped off on her sari. "This place is filthy, clearly there wasn't any evidence that needed cleaning up."

"So what happened here, then!?" Chandra couldn't help but groan. "Has he been here!? Where did he go!?"

"Well, someone certainly has been here, but whoever it was, they're long gone now." Huatli sighed. "It was worth a shot, I guess we'll have to leave it up to the others back on Ravnica."

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Chandra exclaimed as Saheeli and Huatli began to take their leave. "Who are these 'others'? What's going on that I don't know?"

"The guilds back on Ravnica are sending assassins after Dovin Baan, Tezzeret and Liliana Vess. It's something they obviously didn't intend on sharing with the public." Saheeli explained. "It's a shame we didn't get here in time, but that doesn't mean justice isn't going to be done- just not by us."

"If this is something they're keeping under wraps, then how come you both know about it!?" Chandra questioned, unable to keep from sounding flustered.

"Oh, I guess you could say..." Saheeli paused as the familiar mechanical hummingbird fluttered in and landed softly on her shoulder. "... A little birdie told me."

**Rat**

Rat's heart so much she was afraid she was going to die. She couldn't stand to remain cooped up in Orzhova another minute, even though it was in the middle of the night. Even though the bed she had been graciously given was soft enough to put every bed she had ever lied in to shame, and even though her own friends remained within, Rat couldn't bring herself to stay. Nothing awaited her the next day but a goodbye she was almost certain would shatter her heart into a million little pieces.

_Teyo will go back home, to where he belongs, and Mistress Kaya will get the freedom she's wanted so desperately. They'll both be so, very happy, and I'll be here... alone._

The word alone stung enough to cause her to flinch as Rat made her way down the hall. There was hardly any reason to go about her escape stealthily, it wasn't like most everyone within the walls of Orzhova could hear her, and the ones who could were fast asleep.

She refused to stop by Mistress Kaya and Teyo's bedchambers, not wanting to grace them with a goodbye even while they were asleep. There would be nothing 'good' about it, whether or not they were awake to see her go, just as there would be nothing 'good' about sending the two of them off. It was best to forgo such things and just slip into the night, as if she never existed in their lives.

She bitterly wished that forgetting them would be as easy as sneaking out was. She wished they would just slip away unnoticed so easily. She wanted to live so desperately with the lie that she would just run into them on the street eventually instead of the absolute guarantee they wouldn't be on the plane at all.

_It's so easy to leave behind a place that isn't your home, or a place where you feel unwelcome. It's very easy to leave behind a Rat..._

Rat's heart was plunged even deeper into despair as she thought back to Hekara, who had dropped by unannounced at dinner. She could still remember the agony of having Hekara- _her Hekara_ \- looking her dead in the eyes, only to see nothing but an empty chair. Tears she thought she had cried the last of began to fill her eyes again as she finally found a small, side exit and tripped out into the street. She landed on her hands and knees, scraping both but not being able to notice passed her heartache.

 _It hurts that she can't see me... how does she think_ I _even feel!?_

Choking back a sob and picking herself back up, Rat turned to look up at the towers of Orzhova that loomed over her, making her feel impossibly small and more insignificant than she already felt.

 _How do they all even think I feel!? Does nobody else care about a Rat..._ their _Rat!?_

She desperately wanted to scream but, instead, Rat chose to run- far away from the shadows cast by Orzhova that threatened to swallow her up and far away from her friends. She wanted so very desperately to out-run the feeling of loneliness that nipped and gnashed at her heels. She ran down the dark, empty city streets, caring very little for her legs that began to grow weary or her lungs that burned as she heaved breath after heavy, labored breath. She ran and ran, like she was being chased, with little destination outside of putting as much distance between her, Teyo and Mistress Kaya as she could.

_I'll be the one to vanish first, that will show them!_

As she lost herself in her thoughts, an unevenness in the cobbled streets tripped her up, sending her tumbling to the ground in a messy, sobbing heap. Skidding to a halt, she remained lying on the cold, hard ground, the weight of her loneliness making it difficult to even sit herself up. Instead, she curled herself up into a tight ball and cried, shivering with each painful breath and moaning in agony with each exhale. From where she lay, she could see the citadel Nicol Bolas had erected, ruining the city skyline with its massive, imposing form.

_I wish I never met Teyo. I wish I never met Mistress Kaya. I wish neither of them came to Ravnica. I wish Hekara hadn't been brought back. I wish this whole, stupid war never happened! I wish..._

"I wish I could just disappear." She cried to herself through her tears.

And, in a blink of an eye, Rat's wish was granted.


	4. Chapter 4

**Funeral Service**

**Liliana Vess**

There was a very short list of people who Liliana could expect to show up at what remained of her door: people who wanted to kill her, and people who wanted to bother her- the later of which was an even shorter list, made up of one potential person. At least the inevitable list of assassins had a bit of variety, maybe a little something to liven up her day (which, after stopping herself from deciding on something foolishly impulsive, wound up being starting plans to rebuild what little was left of the Vess mansion). The shortlist of people who would only show up to give her nothing more serious than a migraine was as predictable as they were annoying.

Progress of attaining raw materials for what looked to be a very slow rebuilding process was brought to an even slower crawl when her small legion of zombies she had managed to amass became preoccupied with dealing with her intruder. She hoped there could even be a chance that the undead line of defense would be enough to stop them and force them to retreat- but she knew better. All her zombies would be able to do was delay the irritating inevitable.

"I was wondering when you were going to show your miserable face around here," Liliana said in what barely passed for a greeting as her visitor met her on the second floor where she had been surveying their intrusion. "Tezzeret, would it have at least killed you to knock?"

"Well, I had a bit of fun 'knocking' around that shambling horde of yours, if that counts for anything." Tezzeret chuckled, but Liliana hardly reacted with anything other than a raised eyebrow and a frown.

"Ah, so you've taken up being a comedian now that you're not Bolas' plaything, I see?" She said. "Unfortunately for you, I don't have patience for clowns." Her eyes glowed violet in warning, silently threatening Tezzeret with her arsenal that he more than likely knew didn't stop at just a small army of zombies.

"If history serves, though, you always have time to spare when it comes to deals." Tezzeret smirked, not even shrinking back in the wake of her threatening aura. "I've just come to offer an alliance- from one clown to another, you could say."

"And if history serves, you should know I'm not all that keen on associating myself with you, if I can help it." Liliana snarled. "I've worked for you before, and both of us know for a fact it didn't quite work out well for either of us. I hope you weren't planning on me jumping at the chance to do that song and dance all over again."

"The playing field has chanced considerably since those days, Liliana, we're both in very different positions." Tezzeret noted, not losing his stride as he took a bold step towards her. "I'm a man left with nothing after Bolas stole everything I built out from under me and you... you're hardly what I'd call better off, even without your debts."

"Oh, and I'd be better off if I let myself get manipulated by you?" Liliana openly laughed. "I had you pegged as a masochist before, but now I'm certain, if all you came out here to do was embarrass yourself."

"Smarter people in your position would take my offer into consideration." Tezzeret frowned slightly. "You're still shackled to the Chain Veil, and now with no group of optimistic fools to manipulate into doing your bidding, and no master to turn to for help, you're completely on your own with freeing yourself. You and I both know you've gotten more than a little rusty when it comes to problem solving on your own, seeing as your first instinct was to keep on putting it off so you could repair some old, decrepit ruins."

"Something makes me doubt I'd be any better off working with you. Like you said, I'm quite good at manipulating people into doing what I want, which also makes me very perceptive to when someone intends on doing the same to me." Liliana snapped. "I'm not operating on the same schedule as the rest of you. I have time many people don't in order to solve my problems, and right now that's more than enough."

"Time is going to run a lot shorter than you think if you're not careful." Tezzeret warned. "We're already being hunted. Those fools you left alive back on Ravnica were more than eager to start putting together parties to try and kill us, and I am positive your former friends, the Gatewatch, aren't going to be too far behind."

"Are you insinuating I won't be able to hold my own against a couple of small mobs?"

"Not at all. If you were that weak, trust me, I wouldn't have bothered trudging through this backwater to come and find you," Tezzeret said. "But I am insinuating that you've grown soft. It's not just Jace you've grown attached to now, it's his entire remaining lot of friends who you've been gallivanting across the multiverse with. Can you really say you'd be able to cut them down once they come for you?"

"... Of course I can."

"Quite the pause there for a master of detachment." Tezzeret mocked. "The way I see it, you're not just rebuilding the old childhood home for nostalgia's sake; you're building a tomb you're precious friends will more than happily lay you to rest in. You betrayed them and stole the lives of so many, as well as one of their beloved companions. You've given them plenty of incentive-"

"-And you're not giving me any." Liliana said sharply. "If you came here to flap your gums, I'd say you've had more than enough time to do so, and you've wasted more than enough of mine. Leave now, before I start seeing to it that whatever flesh is still left on you is rotted off."

"Fine, fine, you've exhausted most of my hand. If getting rid of the Chain Veil and my _generous_ offer for protection aren't enough to persuade you, I have no choice but to try and bait you." Tezzeret sighed, the threat rolling off of him easily. He looked to his left, his gaze shifting from Liliana to beside him in an almost lazy fashion, as if to make an incredible point about how much his remained unaffected by her adamant refusal.

In between the space of a blink, they were suddenly joined by a third: a person cloaked in black, and their face and body almost totally obscured. Liliana could make out their lips and chin, at the very least, smiling casually among the two other people with enough blood on their hands to pollute an ocean. But, there was a faint ripple of glamour magic at play that Liliana was able to pick up on, if her experience dealing with Jace had left her with any knowledge dealing in that sort of magic. And, in their hands, still dripping wet with filthy swamp water, was the spirit gem.

"When- _How_ did you-!?" She gasped, taking a furious step forward.

However, before she had the chance to pick up her opposite foot to continue her charge, the newcomer moved one of their hands in a quick, fluid motion that Liliana wouldn't have even noticed had their cloak not fluttered in the resulting breeze. There was the clean, high-pitched scream of metal that sliced through the air and caused Liliana to pause half a second before pain bloomed from her left cheek. Gasping in shock, Liliana reached up to touch blood that started to ooze from a clean cut right across her skin; a fresh slice through the faint tattoos that branded her.

"Let's not be too hasty- besides, what were you planing on doing with the thing, anyway?" Tezzeret laughed. "Unless, of course, your plans were just letting it sink to the bottom of a filthy bog."

"It's my trophy, one for the person out of the two of us who actually managed to kill Bolas." Liliana snarled as she wiped at her bloody cheek, leaving behind a smear of crimson.

"And if you want it back so badly, you'll come and find me after you think on my offer. I'll even leave you with the coordinates, so you can visit whenever you want your 'trophy' back." Tezzeret said as he nodded to his companion, who nodded back and vanished as quickly as they had come, spirit gem in tow. "But I'll admit, I have grander plans for Bolas' little parting gift than you ever could. The sparks he harvested rest inside that gem, and who knows what sorts of things that amount of magic can accomplish. It could even be the key to helping you rid yourself of the Chain Veil, if you just trust me to help you utilize it."

"I wouldn't even trust you if I hardly knew you- it's just a horrible bonus that I know how you operate." Liliana said in a disgusted tone. "If I even do bother coming to find you, it's going to be getting back what's mine."

"Suit yourself, I'll be expecting you either way. We can have a deeper discussion about all this on Alara- Esper specifically." Tezzeret said with a victorious shrug. "In the meantime, you can get back to... whatever DIY project you were filling your remaining time with. I'm sure whatever shambling mass you have left will be able to make a little progress before whoever decides to come and kill you first finds you."

Leaving Liliana with a mocking laugh and a sickening smirk, he was gone, trailing behind whoever it had been who had escaped with the spirit gem- _her_ spirit gem! She had half the mind to immediately go after him, while his trail was still fresh- half the mind you watch as an undead army ripped piece after piece of etherium from off of his augmented body, and leaving him a squirming, bleeding maggot. But, something inside her stopped her as she felt as her own blood collected around her jaw and started to drip down her neck.

"Don't tell me you're _afraid_." The unwelcome voice of the Raven Man came from behind her, but she refused to give him even the luxury of her gaze as she remained facing forward.

"... He might be leading me into a trap- no, scratch that, he is _definitely_ leading me into a trap." Liliana muttered as she balled her hands into fists.

"While it was very wise to turn down his proposition, that spirit gem could be of great use to us-"

" _'Us'_? Excuse me, there is no 'us', there never has been. That would be like suggesting I would have a camaraderie with a parasite." She snarled. "But I will get that spirit gem- it's as Tezzeret said, it's only a matter of time before potential assassins come sniffing through here, and even people sent to kill me can be persuaded with just the right words to do a little errand."

**Teyo Verada**

A gentle rapping at Teyo's door was what finally roused him from sleep. As much as he resented the idea of leaving such a comfortable bed and nice, warm blankets, he groggily tore himself away from the soft embrace of the mattress and the cocoon of comforters he had wound around himself to open the door for whoever it was who had woken him.

"Excuse me, Master Teyo, Mistress Kaya sent me to wake you." It was Madame Blaise, looking incredibly lively and put together for so early in the morning. It made Teyo feel incredibly slovenly, with his tousled hair and clothes that were clearly very slept in that hung off his body as if the fabric itself was tired. "Also, if you don't mind, could I possibly bother you to help me wake up Mistress Rat? I went to wake up the girl just before this, but she didn't answer and, shamed to say, I'm afraid peaking in wouldn't do much good since I still can't quite bring myself to see the poor dear."

"Oh, right..." Teyo mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I'll go do that now. I guess Rat's a real heavy sleeper."

"You have my thanks- perhaps one day I'll be able to see the girl with as much ease as you do." Madame Blaise said with a quick bow of gratitude. "I haven't given up on my efforts yet."

"I'm positive Rat appreciates the effort." Teyo said, feeling a hint of warmth liven up his exhausted limbs, hearing her talk so strongly about wanting to see his otherwise invisible companion. After last night, seeing her come close to tears over being completely looked over by Hekara, the fact Madame Blaise wanted so badly to see Rat filled Teyo with a little hope. "I'll go wake her up- she probably just needs a good shake."

"Mistress Kaya is waiting downstairs. Please don't take too long, she has a very important matter to attend to this morning." She told him.

"Oh, trust me, I know..." Teyo sighed as he watched her leave. He could only wish that the guild meeting Kaya was attending _wasn't_ so important. He also wished he wasn't such a nobody that his words wouldn't be immediately discarded among the group of guildmasters and high-ranking officials, so that he could possibly appeal to their sensible sides. If only he had gotten Kaya to see things from his point of view, so that she could appeal the need for a fair trial instead of a covert series of assassinations. If only he had the power to do anything...

Suddenly, it felt like he was already back on Gobakhan for a half-second, a useless shieldmage and clumsy acolyte, as far as the abbot was concerned.

"Right, Rat." He reminded himself as he shook himself out of his trance. Trying to chase away feelings of inferiority starting to creep in, he walked down the hall, a few doors down to where Rat had chosen to sleep. Doing the polite thing first, he knocked on the door a few times and waited for a response. After only getting silence in return, however, he was prompted to open the door and peer inside.

"Rat?" He called into the darkness, but still got no answer- not even a tired grumble. Concern outweighing his need to be polite, he opened the door wider, the light from the hallway filling the room and illuminating the area the bed was set up in. "Rat?"

Teyo felt his stomach drop as he came to find a totally empty bed, messily made as if Rat had attempted to clean up after herself in a hurry. Not bothering with wanting to be considerate now, he stormed into the room, taking the thick covers in his hands and pulling them back, hoping to find his friend nestled somewhere beneath them. But, much to his dismay, he only found sheets. Worry quickly spiked into panic.

"Rat!? Rat, where are you!?" He called, even going as far as to peak under the bed and look behind the curtains drawn over the window, half-expecting to find her hiding there to try and pull a prank on him. But, just like before, each search turned up empty, without even the smallest trace of Rat to be found.

Putting his last hopes into her being with Kaya downstairs, he ran back to his room and quickly got changed. All the while, an endless string of worries wrapped and tangled around his brain, all of them having to do with an emotionally vulnerable Rat running off to do something foolish in the middle of the night. Not having the heart to even imagine the outcome of those scenarios, he finished dressing and hurried downstairs, hoping against all of his doubts that Rat would be waiting for him with Kaya in the entryway, ready to tease him about his bedhead.

"Kaya, have you seen-!" Teyo led in with before he even rounded the corner, but before he could even finish his sentence, the sight that met him left him feeling defeated, mounting heavy worries onto his shoulder's once more. Kaya stood in the entryway, but with Tomik, the both of them torn from a hushed conversation as Teyo burst onto the scene. Aside from the odd wait staff passing by, there was no sign of Rat.

"Seen who? Where's Rat?" Kaya asked, inadvertently answering her own question as Teyo stumbled over to them.

"I don't know, I figured she would be with you!" He admitted. "You haven't seen her?"

"Not since last night- she wasn't in her room?"

"No, and I looked _everywhere_!" Teyo cried. "I can't just leave without her, Kaya! I can't leave without getting to say goodbye..."

"I know how you feel, the timing of all this couldn't be farther from ideal. I was honestly hoping to give her a proper farewell, too..." Kaya sighed, sounding guilty. "If there's a chance you could find her before the guild meeting wraps up-"

"I'll make there be a chance!" Teyo insisted. If he was hardly going to be of use in the meeting, he at least was going to put all of his efforts into this. "I need to see her before we leave- it's the least of what she deserves, as our friend! I won't be able to live with myself if I wind up leaving without saying what I need to say!"

"There's also the chance she doesn't want to be found. I don't want to make it sound like I don't appreciate you doing this- or that Rat won't- but, you have to consider that Rat left because _we're_ leaving." Kaya brought up hesitantly. "Maybe she won't want to be found."

"Then, for once, I don't care about what Rat wants- what she needs is to know this isn't going to be goodbye forever! What she needs is to know we're her friends, no matter how far apart we are!" Teyo shouted passionately. "I want her to know... I'll always be a planeswalk away."

"Well, I'd get a move on, then, if I were you." Kaya said with a slight smile. "You have until after the meeting, and after Tomik and I do whatever it is we need to do before I can safely planeswalk. Meet me back here... with or without Rat."

"Oh, it will be with Rat, alright." Teyo said with a quick nod. "I'll make sure of it!"

**Chandra Nalaar**

When they had awoken, the group came to find they were short a head. Some time during the night- maybe when Chandra had been struggling to sleep, or maybe when she had snuck off to break into Dovin Baan's home- Jaya had slipped off to somewhere else, not even leaving behind a note explaining where she had gone. It left Chandra feeling slightly bitter, but she had to figure it was because she wasn't all that attached to Gideon in the first place. Her being present for the funeral would only add to numbers and nothing else- and it wasn't like Chandra had expected her to give a moving eulogy or anything. Jaya being there wouldn't have been anything more than "nice", and she knew from experience that the old woman was anything but.

After a short discussion, the group wound up traveling to Ravnica as planned, short of Jaya, and Chandra tried to talk herself into accepting that it didn't bother her too much. She, however, wasn't above letting Nissa rest a gentle hand on her shoulder as they waited on top of Bolas' citadel for Jace, who had chosen to stay behind.

"He's _late._ " She grumbled aloud, saying what they were all thinking as the minutes ticked by. They had all figured Jace would be there, waiting for them, but in the end it was them who were left to do the waiting. Chandra clutched Gideon's breastplate close to her, at least having the sense not to melt the precious artifact.

"It could just be he got held up." Ajani mentioned hopefully.

"By _what_ , it's not like he has any obligations here anymore!" Chandra argued.

"Let's hold on just a little longer, maybe we shouldn't be expecting him to be eager to attend his friend's funeral." Teferi suggested. "We shouldn't be faulting him for dragging his feet, considering his destination."

"Hmm, it looks like someone _is_ coming." Karn spoke up. "But I suspect a lot of you aren't going to be satisfied."

"What?" Chandra looked, along with everyone else, just in time to see Lavinia reaching the top of the citadel to join them, stopping at the edge to quickly catch her breath. " _Excuse me?_ "

"Forgive me, I bet you all were expecting Jace." She sighed as she regained her composure with ease, what looked like a dead sprint up the citadel winding her for only a moment.

"Oh, and what could have given you _that_ idea?" Chandra asked, her words dripping heavily with sarcasm.

"Did something happen? Is Jace hurt?" Ajani cut in.

"Not quite that- I'm here as one, last favor to former Living Guildpact. I'm personally a little surprised he would waste it on pissing all of you off." Lavinia shook her head. "Jace sent me to tell you he won't be able to make it. He didn't give me any specifics, but he wanted me to tell you he was sorry."

" _Sorry!?_ " Chandra gasped furiously pulling away from Nissa's touch. "Sorry for standing all of us up!? Sorry for missing his friends funeral!? Sorry for vanishing without a word- _again!?_ He's _'sorry'!?_ "

"Chandra, please-" Nissa began to say, but Chandra refused to be stopped.

"He shouldn't feel like he needs to say sorry to us! There's only one person who deserves an apology, and he's _dead!_ " She snapped. "So, the next time you see Jace, you can tell him he can take his weak 'sorry' and shove it up his ass!"

A chorus of voices telling her to stop and to wait echoed at her back as she planeswalked away to their original destination of Theros. The only thing that broke through her blazing fury was glimpse of Nissa, looking considerably forlorn, and it stabbed right on through into her chest. No matter how close she hugged Gideon's breastplate to her chest, the pain still managed to strike.

**Kaya**

Kaya didn't know what made her feel more uncomfortable: being one of the last to arrive to the guild meeting at the Senate House, or the massive, looming stone visage of the late Azorius guildmaster, Isperia, that still stood within. She wondered if the Azorius would ever bring themselves to dismantle the sphinx-guildmaster-turned-stone-statue, or if they simply intended to keep her there as a constant reminder of guildmaster- no, apparently she was more partial to _Queen_ Vraska's actions. The thought that, if she held her title, that she would constantly have to stand in the shadow of the late guildmaster didn't sit well with Kaya in the slightest.

Lavinia, who entered just before her, took her place as the stand-in for Azorius, as many other guild members did. It seemed that not very many of the guildmasters themselves had the pleasure or time to attend, and Kaya personally wished she had been one of them. Unfortunately, this meeting was strictly about her, as well as her fellow accused, Ral and Vraska, who stood in attendance looking equally uncomfortable. Ral was accompanied by Chamberlain Maree, while Vraska had brought Storrev, her Erstwhile aide, along with her.

Among the ranks of guild members, guildmasters, Isperia's stony ghost and the even more imposing Niv-Mizzet, were, surprisingly, other planeswalkers who Kaya couldn't begin to think what business they had there. Jaya stood, hardly bothered by the tense atmosphere to the point of looking almost too casual, whatever years and horrors she had seen in that time making their little meeting not amount to much. Saheeli stood beside her, a tiny hummingbird that, even from a distance, looked beautifully crafted sitting on her shoulder. Lastly, standing farther away from the other two, beside Niv-Mizzet, was The Wanderer, hands clasped neatly behind her back and her visage shrouded by both her hat and a mask that further hid her identity. It was impossible to tell for sure, but Kaya couldn't help but feeling that mysterious woman, in-particular, was looking right at her.

Kaya wasn't sure about the other two, but she was certain that Jaya had been among the group of people who had intended to travel to Theros for Gideon Jura's funeral.

 _What is she doing here?_ She couldn't help but wonder as the meeting soon began the moment she managed to take her place. Whatever the answer was, it was sure to be made clear in time.

"And where is the rest of your cute little fanclub?" Vraska asked with a chuckle.

"If you're referring to Teyo and Araithia, they don't have any business being here- Advokist Tomik is more than enough." Kaya explained curtly, the use of Rat's real name feeling strange and foreign on her tongue.

"The only thing that should mater is that Guildmaster Kaya, herself, is present, along with you and Guildmaster Zarek." Niv grumbled before Vraska could speak again. "Now that she is here we can get down to business: that being whether or not the three of you accept the assignments you have been given."

"With all-due respect, Firemind, before they give you their answers, many of us can't help but be concerned how eager you are to send away three guildmasters- newly appointed ones, in fact." Chamberlain Maree surprisingly spoke up with even Ral looking at her as if he hadn't expected her to speak at all. Maybe he, like Kaya, had hoped for this to be a quick meeting where the rest of the guilds and the Living Guildpact himself would shew them along on their missions. But, much to their dismay, even so much as a simple acceptance of their assignments would be dragged out for as long as the rest of the council deemed necessary- as always, things couldn't simply be agreed upon.

"I second her concerns, minus the respect." Vraska added as she folded her arms in contempt. "One has to question the wisdom of the being willing to put three entire guilds in such tight spots so soon after a major conflict. I have half the mind to think this could lead to some kind of conspiracy."

"Some of us have half the mind to think you're being quite paranoid, Queen Vraska." Lazav spoke up, sounding more like he was looking to fan the flames in the most intentional way.

"This wouldn't be the first time the guilds moved to snuff out the Golgari- I have every right to be suspicious, as do the rest of you." Vraska snapped. "Not every motion we take is a neutral one and you know it. Self-interest is and always has been a factor, even if we don't like mentioning so." Her gaze lingered on the stone form of Isperia. She didn't bother to verbalize it, but without a doubt her personal grudge against the former Azorius guildmaster came to mind.

"Your doubts concerning my wisdom aside..." Niv growled, hiding none of his annoyance over such a thing coming into question. "It's precisely that the three of you are newly appointed guildmasters that you're being sent out on such short notice. The fate that could possibly befall your guilds in your absence will be the perfect motivator to get done what needs to be done. Should you dilly-dally in your assignments, or worse come back empty-handed, it's not just you who will be in jeopardy."

Kaya strained herself from rolling her eyes, satisfying herself with the thought of the Orzhov Syndicate being thrown into turmoil without her. The guild that had made her feel so unwelcome could use a little shake-up, she thought, and if it didn't also effect her as well she would be sincerely tempted to faff about on her way to assassinate Liliana Vess.

"Alright, say we do accept these assignments, that still leaves us without even the first hint of where to go." Ral finally spoke up. "Unless anyone has any idea of where it is we need to head, sending us out into the multiverse to find three, single people is going to be the lost cause of lost causes."

"I have more than just an idea, Ral Zarek." Much to his surprise, it was The Wanderer who spoke up from behind her mask, remaining as statue-still as Isperia. "I have a solid idea of where Vess and Tezzeret have gone."

"Oh, _do_ you now?" Ral questioned, sounding doubtful.

"I _absolutely_ do- I followed them." She stated plainly. "I followed after Liliana the moment she left, figuring her location would be of importance to someone... for the right price, of course." She paused, looking to Niv-Mizzet who gave a slight chuff in response. "As for Tezzeret, I keep very close tabs on him regardless of the situation, and I'd happily divulge that information for free. Nothing will make me happier than to rid the multiverse of that madman."

She spoke in such a monotone, but even so, there was something about the way she talked about Tezzeret that sent a shiver up Kaya's spine.

"Liliana has fled to Dominaria, and Tezzeret has taken to hiding on Alara, on the shard of Esper." The Wanderer explained mechanically. "I'm more than happy to aid Queen Vraska in hunting down Tezzeret, however, in the case of Dominaria..."

"I'll be the one to guide you there, and to where Liliana Vess might be hiding." Jaya finished with a nod, sounding none-to-pleased to be apart of their operation.

"What about the Gatewatch?" Kaya couldn't help but ask the older woman. She heaved a troubled sigh in response, a slight scowl making the wrinkles on her face appear even deeper.

"They don't concern me- you're the one who took an oath, not me." She grumbled. "That being the case, you must at least figure that Liliana Vess, a former member of the Gatewatch, is going to drive a wedge through the lot of them. As much as could hardly care less what happens to you all, I worry for my protege who has the unfortunate business of being among your ranks."

"You're talking about Chandra Nalaar, aren't you?" Kaya asked.

"Of course I am, and I don't want to have to burden her with the task of having to kill a former friend. I'm going to help you on the grounds that you kill Vess so that she doesn't have to." Jaya said.

"Vess and I don't have any prior history, it will be like assassinating any other target." Kaya assured her. "You just get me to where I need to go, and your protege is as good as spared from the burden of killing a criminal who she just so happens to know." The two women made faces at one another, internally clashing in the space between talking.

"That's all well and good, but that doesn't exactly leave me with any leads!" Ral spoke up, frustration heavy in his voice. "I can only hope you followed after Dovin Baan as well."

"...Can't say that I did." The Wanderer said with a shrug that made Ral's blood boil for how casual and flippant it was.

"Th-that being the case-!" Saheeli cut in before an argument ensued. "- It seems that Dovin Baan was perhaps present on Kaladesh for a time. His home appeared to be ransacked, but I hardly had a chance to do a thorough search in the cover of night. It's not much, but it's a lead, and if we inspect the place together we might be able to find clues, or locations of other hideouts of Baan's."

"Couldn't quite stay away after you eavesdropped in on our last meeting, could you?" Lazav chuckled. Saheeli looked back at him in surprise, but said nothing to the contrary.

"Regardless of how she got here, what's done is done and we have a method to tracking down all three of the culprits." Niv-Mizzet spoke proudly. "Now, unless there's any other issues that have been looked over-"

"How about the issue that if I so much as pop into the Blind Eternities, I'll die." Kaya mentioned with a frustrated frown. "I don't know how that slipped such a great and powerful mind, but me being alive is _definitely_ a key part of killing Liliana Vess, if you recall."

"That _would_ be an issue, which is why-" Tomik began to say before getting cut off.

"If you're so open to questioning my intelligence, perhaps you have a solution of your own, then?" Niv snarled, very clearly annoyed over having his intellect questioned more than once the whole meeting.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe the fantasies I've been cooking up in the last few days alone about just releasing every single debtor of their debts." Kaya said in a threatening tone, Niv's anger hardly having any power over her slowly-mounting frustration. "Even just the _thought_ is satisfying, I can only dream of the pleasure that would result from turning this entire guild on it's head just so I can go and kill a single woman."

"Excuse me, but-" Tomik tried again, failing just as he had before as Niv-Mizzet's voice boomed over his own.

"Then you'll be throwing the entire magical balance of the city into chaos! The council will not stand for you to leave the Orzhov Syndicate in shambles just for a bit of petty revenge." He snapped. "Like it or not, and whether I find you fit to hold your position or not, you're an integral part of the balance of power on Ravnica, little planeswalker, and you will abide by that balance!"

"Funny, are you worrying about Ravnica?" Kaya questioned, narrowing her eyes. "Or maybe you're more concerned about your big, scaly-"

"Would both of you please _shut up!_ " Tomik surprisingly snapped, looking incredibly high strung. Much to his surprise, as well as horror, both Kaya and Niv went silent, the former looking back at him with shock, the later like he was considering having roasted lawmage as an after-meeting snack. Fearing breaking down to apologize would only hinder his momentum, however, Tomik continued. "Look, Mistress Kaya-"

"Please don't call me that, Tomik, it's weird coming from you." Kaya briefly cut him off.

"Kaya, you can't just flippantly flippantly make catastrophic decisions like this! Whether or not you see eye-to-eye with the Living Guildpact, you are apart of a delicate balance and if you throw that off, a lot of us don't have the power to just leave the mess behind!" Tomik continued, sounding increasingly more frustrated himself. "It's not just the Syndicate who will suffer."

"Well, do you have a better idea, then?" Kaya asked sharply.

"As a matter of fact, I've been trying to get to that _this entire time!_ " Tomik shouted before quickly getting a hold of himself, clearing his throat and struggling to gain his original composure. "Please, just hear me out. You don't need to go to such extremes."

"Fine, then what do you suggest?" Kaya asked with a huff.

"All we need to do is exploit a particular loophole in the system. You see, I've studied as a lawmage for long enough that I can run circles around the rules with enough digging around, and even this particular problem has a perfectly legal solution... albeit a risky one." Tomik explained, taking on an air of nervousness as he spoke.

"Risky like how?" Kaya cocked an eyebrow doubtfully.

"Not to you, if that's what you're wondering- not to Ravnica, either!" He assured her, as well as the rest of the council who seemed to take on a similar air. "You see, there's a method that would allow Kaya to magically, legally and temporarily transfer the debtor contracts to somebody else: another party willing to take that immense responsibility on..."

"And who might you be suggesting be the one to take on those debtor contracts?" Niv-Mizzet asked, although the way he eyed Tomik made it seem like he already knew the answer, but wanted the satisfaction of hearing him say it.

"Well... _me._ "

**Chandra Nalaar**

"So this is Theros..." Chandra mused quietly to herself as she looked out over the sweeping landscape.

When they had arrived, night had already long-since fallen over Theros, but now the brilliant, golden sun was just starting to peak over the city of Akros that was just in view of the place they had chosen for the burial sight. It had been where Gids had grown up, or so he'd told them, so it felt only appropriate they leave his remains to rest just outside the city, among the peace and tranquility of nature. Chandra stood at the edge of a brook, allowing the water to drift over the tips of her boots- a weak, subtle pull.

"... It really is beautiful, just like you said, Gids."

"Chandra." Nissa's gentle voice pulled Chandra from her quiet vigil as the elf approached her from behind.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Chandra insisted as she turned around, blinking back tears that had begin to form as best as she could.

"I... I wasn't asking." Nissa said in a tone that was meant to sound reassuring. "But... this is a funeral. If there's any time where being 'not fine' would be appropriate, it would be now... I think."

"If I let myself get all weepy too soon, I'll be too much of a mess to do anything by the end." Chandra said with a weak chuckle as she looked down at the rock she held in her hands.

They all had selected a stone for the cairn, one that they each felt represented Gideon the best. Chandra had felt the need to hold onto hers the longest, not quite ready to rest it along with the others atop the burial mound. She ran her fingers over the stone that had become warm in her hands, over the sharp grooves and gentle curves. She'd become so familiar with the thing, but now she'd have to let it go as well.

"The others are waiting- it's time." Nissa said as she held out her hand. Unable to hold back a small, wavering sniffle, Chandra accepted and took her hand, taking note of just how much warmer and softer it was than the stone she hand been hanging onto for so long.

Nissa led Chandra back to the others who had gathered at the burial site, each of their own stones stacked one on top of the other. With a heavy heart and a long, preparatory sigh, Chandra allowed her own to join the others, gently setting it on top to rest. She stepped back to admire her work- admire _their_ work. She considered putting everything on pause again to find a stone to stand in for Jace, but then thought better of it as she swallowed down her anger that built with the reminder that one of Gideon's best friends had decided not to show.

"... Does anyone have any words?" Ajani spoke up, asking the group. "If you have anything that needs to be said, now might be the last time for a lot of us."

Chandra considered his offer, wanting and desperately needing to say anything, but at the thought of letting all of the thoughts inside her head flow freely from her, she felt as if her throat was closing up. Her cheeks grew warm as her vision clouded. What could she say that would be coherent and not just an anguished, furious, _heartbroken_ scream? There were so many things she had wanted to say to Gideon, and so much she had held back because the time was never right. The thought of releasing it all now made her worry it would just result in an explosion instead, like the one she had summoned on Kaladesh... the one Gids had protected her from.

"I can't quite promise words- I've never been all that good at those." Surprisingly, Nissa was the first to speak as she approached the burial mound. "I don't think I could summon up with words to match what I feel... I can't quite form them into a moving speech. But if it's one thing Gideon doesn't deserve, it's silence, so... I've prepared something else- something to help get the words I can't fathom across."

She pulled something small from out of the pouch on her belt, revealing it to be a tiny, pristine acorn. With incredible care, she took a knee and buried it at the head of the mound, coating her gloves in the fresh, rich soil. Without having to be told, Ajani joined in with helping, perhaps seeing some worth in making his feelings known with actions instead of a grand eulogy, as he briskly walked to the brook and scooped up water into his cupped hands. In fact, each of them, aside from Chandra, followed suit, bringing back enough water in small hand-fulls to moisten the ground the acorn had been buried under.

With an approving nod, Nissa stepped back along with the others, her lips parting to emit a small, unintelligible whisper as she closed her eyes in concentration. What followed was an incredible rumble as the soil at the head of the burial mound began to churn and shake. In a show of incredible, breathtaking force, a mighty oak tree sprouted and grew, going through stages that would have normally taken years in a matter of seconds. Before anyone could even gasp in amazement, the tree had grown enough to where even Karn had to tilt his head back to look up at the tangle of branches that were full of lively green leaves. They swayed in the early-morning breeze, emitting a hushed rustle that sounded almost like a whisper. These were Nissa's words, and by the smile on her face, it seemed as if she felt she had done a fine job in articulating what she wanted to say.

Chandra, too, looked up at the thick branches that shaded them, her gaze slowly following the tangled maze of twigs until they led her to the trunk of the tree, which stood unmoved by the wind, thick, powerful and strong. She choked back a sob as she contemplated just how much like Gids the tree Nissa had grown was.

They all stood in silence once again, this time with none of them feeling like they needed to say anything, all save for Chandra, who still couldn't bring herself to say anything at all. Nissa joined her at her side, offering her hand once more. Instead, Chandra opted to rest her head on her friends shoulder, burying her face against her to hide tears that were threatening to gush out.

"... It's time I took my leave." Karn was the first to finally speak up as he looked up at the massive oak one last time. "Any more time spent away from my quest will become dire."

"The multiverse will be in constant motion, with or without Gideon. He wouldn't want us to stay here and mourn him for too long." Teferi nodded in agreement. "Like Karn said, there's still work that needs to be done, and I'll be more than happy to host you, with my daughter, in Femeref back on Dominaria. Work like yours shouldn't be done alone."

"Correct." Karn said after a thoughtful pause.

"You're all welcome to join us, if you want. I understand if there are other things you need to attend to." Teferi brought up to the remaining trio. "We could use your help."

"I'll... join you in a moment." Ajani said. "Go on ahead, I'll meet up with the both of you."

"Chandra." Nissa softly spoke as she nudged her beloved, who only reacted with a quiet sob. She craned her head to look back at the others, giving them only a passing nod to say that they could leave without them both. With their own silent acknowledgment, Teferi and Karn departed, leaving just Nissa, Chandra and Ajani to stand at the foot of the grave.

"You know... I lost someone very dear to me on this plane. Returning here hurts, and yet I always find myself coming back." Ajani said, looking up at the oak with folded arms. "Her name was Elspeth Tirel... she was like a guiding light, like a brilliant star, and I followed after her, trying to catch up to her, never once telling her how I truly felt. Every time I return here, I am consumed by those words I never shared with her. They're like a weight at the bottom of my heart, dragging me down, like how her soul was dragged into the underworld. I've made enough peace with her passing to be able to pick myself up and fight... but I fear that weight will always be there to some extent."

"Was she like Gids?" Chandra dared to ask. Ajani tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, chuckling to himself.

"She was to me like Gideon was to you in many a manner of ways, but on top of everything, she was a haunted woman, broken in a way that I wanted to badly to heal. She would have benefited from something like the Gatewatch, like Gideon had been. I like to think she would have grown to be like him, if she had been given the chance." He sighed. "She would have been brilliant."

"... Sorry for you loss." Chandra managed to bring herself to say.

"And I'm sorry for yours, I only wish we didn't have such losses in common." Ajani said as he turned his attention fully to Chandra. "Don't follow my example- don't let those words you wish you had said eat you up inside. There are things you, undoubtedly, wanted to share with Gideon Jura... while you have his chance, you should say them. Perhaps he's somewhere where he might be able to hear, so let him hear them."

"Thanks... I'm just not completely sure what those words even are, or if they even are _words_." Chandra muttered. "There's so much... _too much_."

"It won't hurt to at least give it a try." Ajani assured her. "But, I'll leave you to it. I'd love to stay and give you more of my support but... I think I've gotten my fill of Theros today." He paused, turning to Nissa. "You're welcome to come along as well."

"No, I think..." Nissa turned him down, completing her sentence with a warm look in Chandra's direction, who still leaned on her.

"Well, wherever the wind might take us, I hope we will cross paths soon, as the Gatewatch, and as friends." Ajani said with a wise nod that Nissa returned with a reserved smile. His subsequent departure swelled and mixed with the warm passing breeze, shaking the branches above once more and releasing another whisper from the fluttering leaves.

"Will you stay? I... I don't think I want to do this alone." Chandra said, raising her head to meet Nissa's gaze.

"I'll stay as long as I need to." She said as she reached out and warmly took Chandra's hands. "As long as you need me, I'll be here."

"What, no tree metaphor?" Chandra asked after a brief pause, her cheeks growing warm.

"I think I've exhausted myself of tree-based metaphors today." Nissa surprisingly joked back, motioning towards her handiwork.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Chandra laughed as she looked down at their hands, clasped together, binding them to one another. She wanted to hold them forever and never let her go, even if it meant keeping her away from Zendikar forever- and it frightened her. With a deep sigh, she drew her hands away from her beloved companion's. "I suppose I should... get this over with."

"Only if you want to." Nissa added, her hands falling down at her sides.

"Ajani was right though, this is something I have to do, or else it will eat me up inside. For once, there's a fire inside me that needs to be put out, or else it's going to consume me." Chandra shook her head. "Gids deserves not to be kept waiting anymore."

"Mmm..." Nissa made a slight noise in agreement, taking a step back as Chandra drew closer to the grave site.

With her head hung, looking down at the gathered stones instead of the branches of the mighty oak, Chandra reached deep inside herself, drawing out word after word from the dark pit that felt like it had formed in her chest until she had enough to form an opening line: the first thing she wished she could have told Gideon.

"I... I loved you, you know? Now that I think about it, I think I _still_ love you, and I don't think I'll ever stop." She began, the second words left her lips, so, too, did tears begin to fall from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "But that's just the version of Gids that I knew, isn't it? I never attempted to get to know you outside of what I loved. I knew you for so long, but only now that you're gone I realize how little I actually cared to know. I only wanted to love the better parts of you... the parts that were easy to love. Who even _was_ Gideon Jura? I... I can only wish that I knew now."

She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were trying to keep herself together. Squinting passed tears, she continued, words now cascading from her lips like an untamed flood.

"I wish I know the Gids that Jace got to know... or the Gids that Lili got to know, right up until the end. I wish I got to know more of you, and I'm sorry I'm only realizing this now. Now I can only get to know you from stories, like you're a legend out of a book. Now, I'll only be chasing after memories." She paused as she looked back at Nissa who, for once, seemed distracted enough not to immediately meet her gaze. She looked of into the distance, fixing a stray strand of hair behind one of her pointed ears. In that moment, she seemed beautiful, and just as perfect as Gids had originally been. "I'm not going to let that happen again."

Choking back another sob, Chandra wiped at her eyes as she looked back at the oak tree. It was a futile effort, as fresh tears replaced the ones she wiped away.

"I'm sorry Jace couldn't be here... I promise, the next time I see him, I'm giving him an extra-hard slug right in his shoulder. I know you always tried to be gentle on him, but this time he deserves it." She said, weakly chuckling. "but, he was your friend, so I guess I can't outright maim him like I want to, huh?"

The rustling leaves seemed to answer her as Chandra felt that, if she wanted to, she could keep on talking forever. But, if she did, she wouldn't get to the most important thing she wanted to say: the thing she needed to say the very most.

"I never got to tell you that I loved you... but I still have a chance to say goodbye. It's something I desperately don't want to do, and it hurts just thinking about it..." Chandra paused to allow herself to weep, letting tears she had held back for so long flow freely. She didn't want to leave Theros with any tears still left to shed. "But I know it's something I have to do... because I love you so much. If I don't do this now, I'll be chasing ghosts for the rest of my life- and you didn't get to meet her for very long, but I'm pretty sure that's Kaya's job. Oh, right, I guess I forgot to mention that she took an oath, so even now the Gatewatch is still-"

Chandra cut herself off. She was rambling again, avoiding the thing she didn't want to do, just like always. However, it was time to face the inevitable, and with quivering lips and watery eyes, she forced herself to smile, looking up at the sky slowly turning a vibrant shade of blue through the branches of the oak. It was a beautiful morning on Theros, and in some way, she finally got to share such a wonderful sight with the man she loved.

"This is goodbye... for real... forever." She spoke softly. "For the justice you sought, and the peace you worked for hard for... I will keep watch in your absence."

A powerful wind whipped past her in that moment, tussling her hair and kicking up stray grass and dirt. It blustered through, forcing Chandra to shut her eyes, but just as fast as it came, it was gone, leaving Chandra to stand in silence with the tears she had shed blown dry by the wind. She stood in silent awe of what had just blown passed her, allowing her hair and clothes to naturally settle before she closed her eyes and finally allowed herself to smile. There was nothing much else she needed to say, and in some way she felt like Gids had given her his sign of approval, as well as a final push away from his final resting place and out into a multiverse, without him.

Giving the cairn one last, fleeting look, Chandra allowed herself to turn around and depart, rushing over to Nissa's side.

" _Wow_ , did you feel that gust of wind? Talk about your freaky weather, huh!" She called out as she closed the gap between them.

"What wind?" Nissa genuinely asked. Chandra opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and chuckled to herself instead, shaking her head.

"Never mind, forget it."

"So... where might you be headed next?" Nissa asked. "Are you going to go join Ajani and the others?"

"No I... I'm going back to Ravnica. I'm going to see if I can't catch whoever's hunting Baan before they leave- he needs to be brought to justice, and I need to be there to help." Chandra said with incredible conviction. "I want to do something I'm proud of before... I have to face the fact that Liliana will be hunted as well."

"I... I could accompany you, as well." Nissa suggested, but it was clear by the tone of her voice and by the look in her eyes that she had reservations. Once again, Nissa was forcing herself for Chandra, while Chandra couldn't even begin to think how to force herself in kind.

"N-no, I... I don't need you there!" She quickly said, but it was obvious from the look on Nissa's face that she had spoken the wrong words.

"When will you need me, then? Are you suggesting there are times where you won't?" She asked, looking perplexed.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all!" Chandra gasped. "I just don't want you to force yourself to do things you don't want to just for the sake of being near me."

"Who's to say I'm forcing myself?"

"It's written all over your face, Nissa!" Chandra found herself shouting. "You're forcing yourself to love me like you think I need to be loved, and I'm afraid that if you keep that up, then-"

"So you think I'm forcing myself to love you!?" Nissa asked, her voice filled with a mixture of baffled frustration and hurt.

"No! Nissa, please, you're not understanding me!"

"Then tell me in a way that I can understand!" Nissa, surprisingly, shouted. By the look that appeared on her face shortly after speaking, it seemed as if she was taken aback by the outburst as well. "I'm just starting to understand what love for another being is... and an actual need for companionship. I _know_ this is love, but I don't know how to express it..." She bit her lip, her gaze slowly trailing down to the ground. "It's... _frustrating_."

She had said that, but in Chandra's heart, it felt as if Nissa had actually said, _"You're frustrating"_.

"I need some time to think..." Chandra only allowed herself to say that much, refusing to let her aching heart show on her sleeve. "I think you do, too."

"I should... return to Zendikar. I'll leave you to Baan." Nissa spoke plainly, but with a look in her brilliant green eyes that seemed to dull their color the slightest bit.

"R-right... I-" However, before Chandra could finish, Nissa had already planeswalked away, leaving Chandra to stand in the grassy field alone, with nothing but her oak tree to keep her company. "- Love... you."

Balling her hands into painfully-tight fists, Chandra followed suit and departed Theros as well, wondering why it had been so freeing to say that she loved Gideon when he wasn't even there, but her heart had ached to horribly when she failed to say it to Nissa in time. She considered abandoning her efforts and going after her to Zendikar so that she could apologize and say enough "I love you"s to list the pain in her heart. But, she wondered, in that moment, if Nissa would accept her, after such a horrible screw-up.

In defeat, Chandra kept her original course, and hurried in the direction of Ravnica.


	5. Chapter 5

** Departures **

**Teyo Verada**

Teyo had expected a _bit_ of trouble- the streets of Ravnica were, at times, unpredictably inhospitable, he had come to find- but, his foresight had only gotten him so far, and where it left him was tightly cornered with a rough-looking trio bearing down on him.

He had made the choice to make his way to Gruul territory first, narrowing down his search by first seeking out either of Rat's parents. It made sense to him that she would possibly seek out their guidance, or even companionship, and it seemed like much better an idea than just running blind through the streets, hoping to spot her. Unfortunately, his strategy was what got him into a whole other mess: when he decided to approach the two humans and goblin, who seemed dressed the part to be from the Gruul Clans, and asked where he could find Ari Shokta. At worst, he had expected to be blown off rudely, and that his search would simply continue. However, now that he was in danger of having his own teeth added to their impressive collections that hung around their necks, he was starting to consider that believing being ignored would be the most of his problems was narrow-minded at best.

"I didn't come here to cause trouble- I'm just looking for someone!" He insisted, pressing himself even closer to the wall as his boots scrapped against the ground in his efforts.

"Well, you came lookin' in the wrong place!" The human woman out of the group, who was also the bulkiest out of the three, shouted, spit flying from her lips. "And now, it's gonna cost ya!"

It was finally to Teyo's benefit that he had developed a nervous tick to summon shields at the first sign of danger, as the woman's arm muscles tensed to raise her club. Before she even managed to raise it into the air to move and strike him, he had already conjured two rectangles of solid light, owing their strength to the wall that he braced himself against- or maybe he was just getting better at making them. Permanent feelings of self-doubt chalked it up to being pressed into a corner, though. Out of an ever-growing habit, he even created a small circle of light below his right ear to give him even further balance- something the abbot back home would shame him for, but at the moment, Teyo needed all the help he could get. Right now, Teyo wasn't back home.

His attacker let out a bellow as she swung her beating club down, and a hallow sound rang out as she struck the shield instead of Teyo's head. The strike reverberated all throughout the shield, leaving behind violent ripples of light but, thankfully, the shields held. His defense looking to be efficient left Teyo feeling a little more at ease, but they were a far cry from being of any help in getting him out of the corner he'd been forced into. If anything, they kept him bound there, and his time he could be spending searching for Ari or Rat was going to be spent watching his attackers smash their weapons against his shields. So long as the walls as his back stood firm, his defense would hold, but the time he had left to find any traces of his friend would sooner crumble away.

"You can't hide behind your defenses forever, _coward!_ " The other human in the group snarled, his words mimicking Teyo's thoughts in a simpler, harsher (and not to mention louder) way.

 _Is that what I am?_ _A coward?_ Teyo thought to himself bitterly. Had Rat's sudden disappearance really shocked him so, or had he simply been ignoring the extent of her massive unease with his desire to want to return back to Gobakhan? Was he going home... or was he just running away, back to safety?

"By the storm, just let me pass!" He finally shouted back, starting to lose his patience as he pressed his hands hard against the wall behind him and forced his shields outward. The resulting force was enough to throw his attackers off their feet, forcing a couple of them to drop their weapons in surprise. His window of opportunity was small, and would only last as long as it took for at least one of the thugs to get back onto their feet, but Teyo took his chances and ran towards the empty street, dropping the shields as he bolted.

"Not so fast, boy!" The woman of the group practically roared as he felt a rough hand grip at his ankle. He gasped as the last of his shields of light, the tiny circle giving him balance, crumbled away as he fell chest first onto the ground. He scrambled and struggled, trying his best to leap back to his feet, but his attacker was already bearing down on him before he had a chance to continue his retreat. "You aren't getting away that easy- not before we tenderize you a little bit!"

Teyo looked up in horror, eyes immediately focusing on her club that was raised into the air again, this time triggering his instinct to flinch when he should have been moving to defend himself again. It was time he could have used, and time he couldn't get back. He wondered, in that breif moment, if getting clubbed over the head would be anything like the pain that Rat felt to see her friends desert her one by one.

A flash of something flying into his line of sight that wasn't the woman or her club caught both of them off guard: a powerful hand balled into a tight fist that struck the woman in the face and sent her tumbling backwards into her comrades he were just then rising to join her. They collectively all fell back down onto the ground in a tangled heap, swearing at each other. Daring to tear his eyes away from his attackers, Teyo looked up to see the relieving sight of Ari Shokta standing imposingly over him, cracking her knuckles as if she expected a brawl to ensue.

"If you want at this boy, you're going to have to go through me." She snarled. "And I think we all know just how well that's going to turn out, so save yourselves the trouble and go take your inferiority out on some other whelp."

Had she just offhandedly called him a whelp? Teyo didn't have much room to be upset over such things, as the trio narrowed their eyes and gnashed their teeth- but, thankfully, slunk away, leaving him in the safety of Ari's care. He heaved a long, exhausted sigh of relief that escalated into a cry of surprise as he felt her grip his shoulder maybe a _little_ too tightly and forced him back onto his feet.

"You should consider yourself lucky that you're a friend of my daughter's, boy- do you have some kind of death wish?" She asked him, wrinkling her nose and furrowing her brow in disappointment.

"No, just really rotten luck." Teyo admitted, rubbing his shoulder.

"We're called the Gruul _Clans_ for a reason you know- we're not exactly as united as the other guilds, even in times of peace." Ari explained gruffly. "For a boy with bad luck, you should consider yourself extremely lucky I was close by, and that I got wind you were searching for me before you were reduced to mincemeat."

"I can't thank you enough for that, I'm in your debt!" He said, while not even being exactly sure how he would even begin to pay her back.

"Consider my services on the house this time, as one of Rat's friends." She huffed. "Instead, you can explain why you're wandering around these parts looking for me."

"O-oh, right!" Teyo exclaimed, the reality of why he had come all that way settling in again. "I was hoping you might have seen your daughter recently- like today, or last night."

"Hmmph... as one of the few people who can even see her, I can't say that I have. I could have sworn she was with your lot." Ari said as she folded her arms.

"She was- at least, until this morning. She vanished sometime during the night and I've been trying to track her down. I don't have a lot of time left, and I was hoping she had come to see you." Teyo explained, feeling his heart grow heavy and not feeling at all better as Ari clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"This wouldn't be the first time she's done something like this. My daughter has the habit of coming and going quite frequently, and sometimes she will drop off the face of the city for weeks- and I'm positive that, if you were to ask a particular Gruul defector the same thing, he'd give you a similar answer." She said, clearly referring to Rat's godfather, Boruvo. "I don't normally ask where she goes, or what she gets up to. She was raised to be tough and I trust that she'll keep herself safe, wherever it is she winds up. When she wants to come back, she'll resurface, and there's not much that searching will do. The only thing that you can do is wait."

"I was afraid you would say that..." Teyo sighed, feeling weighed down by defeat. He didn't have weeks to wait around for Rat to show up again- he hardly even had hours. "You say she's tough, but I can't help but worry. I don't think I've stopped worrying about her ever since she learned that Hekara can't see her anymore."

"Ah, right, that odd Rakdos girl..." Ari acknowledged with a slight nod. "That certainly was a blow, but there isn't a blow that my daughter can't recover from. And, besides, she has you, after all."

Teyo couldn't express with words just how mighty a blow her assurances were to his insecurities. It felt almost like she had punched him right in the heart, and it left him feeling positively winded.

"Is something the matter, boy?"

"No, no, I'm alright- I was just... _thinking_." He lied. "I know you said it's best to wait, but I feel like I should go back to looking for Rat."

"It's a pointless quest but, if your time can't be better spent, I'm not going to stop you." Ari relented, a slight smile stretching across her lips. "I can't say that I'm not glad Rat finally has someone who is willing to go out and look for her when she does her little disappearing act- people normally don't even bother."

"Of course I'll keep looking for her- she's my friend after all." Teyo said. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't?"

After giving thanks one last time and exchanging goodbyes, Teyo departed to continue his search, keeping to himself that, even though she had saved him, his talk with Ari had left him feeling no better than if he had been clubbed to a bloody pulp.

**Ral Zarek**

" _What!?_ " Both Kaya and Ral reacted with the same level of shock, exclaiming at the same time before Ral turned his attention to Kaya.

"You didn't know about this!?" He shouted. If there would have been one person who might had tried to deter Tomik from suggesting something so risky, it would have been her, but she seemed just as surprised by his plan as Ral was.

"If the man who lives with him didn't even know, what makes you think that _I_ did!?" Kaya snapped back before the both of them turned their attention back to Tomik, who stood impressively strong beneath their collected gaze.

"What? Don't tell me that neither of you trust me!" He exclaimed, a hint of offense in his voice. "I expected Ral to have some reservations about this, which is why I didn't tell him- but, you, Kaya!?"

"It's not that we don't trust you..." Kaya spoke nervously, as she shared a side glance with Ral, who felt as if the floor had been torn out from under him. He kept his lips tightly pressed together, letting Tomik's guildmaster do the talking. "It's just- surely you understand how risky handing over all of the debtor contracts to you would be. And I'm not just referring to the Syndicate, I'm worried about _you!_ "

"So you _don't_ trust me." Tomik cocked an eyebrow angrily.

"As someone who knows exactly the weight these debts have, I can't fathom the thought of just handing them over to someone- at least, someone who I actually care about!" Kaya corrected him in frustration. "Is there a way I can give you a fraction of the debts- I just need a little bit of relief from them, surely it doesn't have to be all of them!"

"It's all or nothing in this case, the contracts can't be partially transferred." Tomik said as he folded his arms and shook his head. "Kaya, please, we're holding this meeting and the others up, the longer we argue here, the harder it will be to track down and overpower Liliana, Dovin and Tezzeret who are probably more than prepared at this point to be hunted. I've calculated the risk, I know what I'm in for, all I need now is for you to have faith in me..." He paused as he looked from Kaya back to Ral with a hopeful gaze.

In the end, it would be Kaya's decision, not Ral's, and yet Tomik also looked to him for approval. Maybe it was because he was the man who- given that Tomik would agree to such a thing- would possibly be his husband. Ral knew this was probably the only option him and Kaya had available, but it still somehow felt like a test for him personally. So long as the two of them were vital pieces in the machine that was the guild system, there would always be a chance that either of them would have to put themselves in harms way, and the other would only be able to give them their trust.

"... Don't look at me like that." Ral sighed. "As the Izzet guildmaster, it's not my call." He wished he could be a little less formal about it, but with all eyes on him, it was best to keep things short and to the point. In the end, Tomik's decisions were his alone, whether they be a wildly dangerous plan cooked up in desperation... or a marriage proposal.

"Are you certain there isn't any other way?" Kaya asked him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"It would take days or even weeks to come up with something that would satisfy both of us- and that's time we don't have." Tomik said sternly. "As your aide-de-camp, I ask that you make use of my position and my research... and as your friend, I ask that you trust me."

"If nothing I say will move you..."

"Speaking as an experienced lawmage, you would have to come up with one hell of an argument." Tomik said with an assuring grin.

"-If you think you can handle it, I guess I'm in a position where I don't have any choice but to go along with this." Kaya finished, capping herself off with a defeated huff.

"Such dramatics for so early in the morning." Exava chuckled with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not used to these meetings being a place for melodrama, but I'll take my entertainment where I can get it, especially when it leads to somebody in the Syndicate's potential suffering."

Ral held his breath as he looked to Exava with a furious glare, but it only seemed to satisfy the bloodwitch's appetite even more as a chuckle from deep in her throat caused her shoulders to shake.

"If that is _quite_ all..." Niv-Mizzet spoke with a low growl mixed with every word. "... We can finish up our business here. That is, unless, anyone else has an objection that will further _waste our time._ " He paused, giving potential detractors only a brief second before continuing. "Ral, Vraska and Kaya, once you leave here you should all consider yourselves banished until such time when you can return with proof that you've carried out your assignments. I suggest you have your affairs in order before then."

Ral swallowed the news like a bitter pill before rushing to Tomik's side now that all eyes were no longer on him.

"Are you insane!?" He hissed as he rested his hands on his lover's shoulders. He was more concerned than he was angry, and he could only hope that those feelings got across.

"Well, I mean, I did fall in love with you, didn't I?" Tomik asked with a stiff shrug and a weak chuckle.

"Tomik, please, this isn't the time for jokes- this idea of yours is..." Ral muttered, struggling to find the words.

"Dangerous? Risky? Possibly deadly?" Tomik listed off. "Trust me, if there's anyone who knows, it's me. But it needs to be done, and if you want to look at it this way, it's only going to be temporary."

"I know you've taken everything into account, and I know this is the best you could have done... But did you really expect me not to worry!?" Ral asked, pulling Tomik a little closer.

"To be truthful, I guess I forgot to account for that. I guess you could say it was a gross oversight on my part not to consider your feelings, but now I need you to stay focused on your own mission- let me worry about my own hide for a change."

"That's a pretty tall order- it's easy to find and kill someone, but it's asking a lot to tell me not to worry about you." Ral admitted.

"Then you'll do your best to finish up as soon as possible. I can't think of a better motivation than that." Tomik said, giving Ral his best, most convincing smile. "And, once you get back... I'll consider your proposal again."

"You better be around to give me an answer by the time I get back." Ral said firmly.

"Taking on the temporary roll as guildmaster will be taxing, but I doubt it will reduce me to nothingness, and I won't be in any hurry to do anything else dangerous in that time, trust me." Tomik said as he reached up to remove Ral's hands from his shoulders. "You do what you can to finish off Dovin safely, and I promise, I'll be here waiting with my answer."

With an incredible amount of tenderness, Tomik leaned in and pressed a kiss against Ral's cheek. Not one to be satisfied with just a simple peck on the cheek, however, Ral drew Tomik in close and pressed his lips to his. He lingered there a moment, relishing in the faint flavor of coffee that still clung to Tomik's lips, before pulling himself away feeling a _little_ bit pleased. Tomik, however, frowned through his blush.

"There's the face of the lawmage I know and love." Ral chuckled.

"Ral, please, there are people here..."

"And there will be several more people at our wedding."

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves."

"A- _hem!_ " Saheeli, who had come to join them at some point, loudly cleared her throat in a less-than-subtle way. "Guildmaster Zarek, perhaps we should be on our way?"

"Ral's fine, you don't have to be so formal..." Ral said as he reluctantly pulled away from Tomik. "I guess we shouldn't waste any more time."

"Oh, is that what you call it?" Tomik asked sarcastically.

"Oh, you know, 'flirting', 'wasting time'- if it's all the same to you, I don't care what we call it." Ral said with a grin before Tomik reached out to take his hand one last time. He looked back at his lover in surprise, suddenly feeling the air around them shift as Tomik's face went serious. There was an urge to make another joke, but Ral ignored it.

"Be careful, alright?" He commanded softly.

"You, too." Ral said with a nod a half second before the two of them embraced. Tomik wrapped his arms tight around Ral while Ral nuzzled against Tomiks neck, taking in his familiar scent of books and soap one last time before they, finally, brought themselves to part. With nothing left for them to share with one another, he and Saheeli finally left the Senate House- with Ral throwing parting looks over his shoulder back at Tomik, who had turned his attention to discussing something with Kaya, until they were completely out of sight.

"Sorry about that- I'm usually not a fan of long goodbyes." Ral apologized to his companion who responded, at first, with a simple, amused chuckle.

"It's quite alright- to tell the truth I have my own, budding relationship. I'm starting to understand romance when I see it, little by little." She said with a smile, her thoughts no doubt on the person of her affection. Ral knew that look very, very well, having made and been the subject of such a look many, many times. "Do try to keep your mind on our mission, though, and I'll try to do the same."

"I can separate business from pleasure, trust me." Ral laughed before the sound of someone calling after them caught both of their attentions.

"Hey! Wait!"

It was one of Jace's friends, the fiery pyromancer with the equally flaming-red hair- Chandra, was it? She ran to them from across the square, sprinting until she came to an abrupt halt mere inches away from colliding with Ral, who took a cautionary step backward.

"Whoa, hey, calm down there spitfire!" He gasped. "I could have sworn you and your little club had a funeral to attend- did Jace send you?"

"Jace didn't send me to do _squat!_ " She snapped, seeming unnecessarily angry over such a simple comment. "I came here because I want to help you! If anyone is going to take down Dovin Baan, I won't be satisfied unless I'm there, too!"

"Hold on, wait a second!" Ral cut her off sharply. "How did you know we're after Dovin Baan- or any of this! I'm pretty sure there was a big emphasis on keeping you out of this, thinking about it now." He caught Chandra and Saheeli sharing a look that spoke volumes between the two of them, before the former looked away to give him a less-than-convincing smile. Ral narrowed his eyes, close to making an accusation before Chandra spoke up.

"Should it really matter how I found out about this- I'm here to help you!" She snapped. "And, you should know, I'm not taking no for an answer- not so long as Baan is involved!"

"We could use her if things come to blows- she's fought Dovin Baan before, so she'll be of help to us." Saheeli added. "Regardless of why- _or how_ \- she managed to find out about the mission."

"Hmmm..." Ral mumbled suspiciously before sighing in defeat. "Fine, so long as you don't get in the way. I was planning on finishing things up as soon as possible."

"Hey, the quicker we rid the multiverse of Baan, the better." Chandra agreed as she folded her arms. "Not to mention I have my own personal issues I should possibly solve sooner rather than later..." Her gaze slowly sank to the ground as she lost a considerable fraction of her confidence- enough that Ral felt almost compelled to ask the young girl what was wrong. However, a sighing of Jaya Ballard as she left the Senate House was enough to force Ral into action.

"Well, no time to waste, then!" He exclaimed as he grabbed Chandra by the shoulders and dragged her out of immediate view. "Saheeli?"

"Kaladesh is where we'll be heading- mine and Chandra's home plane." She explained quickly before they departed. "I had my partner, Huatli, track down someone as well who I believe will be vital in figuring out the mystery of what happened to Dovin Baan. With any luck, she'll have found her and they'll both be waiting for us there."

**Vraska**

It was a somewhat amusing sight, at the very least, to watch as The Wanderer, whose slender frame was incredibly dwarfed by Niv-Mizzet's bulk, discussed the cost of her aid with the Living Guildpact like she was bartering with a simple street vendor. Her prices for the information she had provided were incredibly steep and impossible to move, driven even slightly higher by the dragon's reluctance to part with such a large sum of money. It was almost enough to settle the troubles that were brewing just below the surface- _almost_ , anyway.

Jace had departed sometime during the night while she had slept, both without saying goodbye or explaining why he had to leave. They had discussed that he had a funeral to attend, but she had at least hope to have caught him before they both left, having woken up incredibly early herself. Instead, all that she found was a handwritten note left behind at the same table they had been sharing drinks (and kisses) at the night before, and what was written had been vague- almost feeling like it was on purpose.

"Sorry I had to leave so soon," the note had said, "I'll see you when I get back."

Why had he felt the need to leave without telling her? Why had there been a need for secrecy? Even if it meant waking her in the middle of the night, so long as he gave her a tender kiss goodbye she would have forgiven the transgression. Instead, he had left without a word or a sound enough to even rouse her from slumber, like the fleeting night that was finally starting to melt away as the sun began to rise outside.

"Queen Vraska." The Wanderer speaking her name pulled her from her thoughts. Judging by Niv-Mizzet's annoyed expression, it seemed their business was finished.

"Finally wrapped up your little shake-down?" She asked, trying to keep from looking as bothered as she felt.

"I know what my services are worth, regardless of whether not others may agree." The Wanderer said simply. "Shall we be off, then?"

"Not so fast." Vraska said with a slight snarl. "You've provided us with incredibly useful information, but that still doesn't change the fact that I hardly know you- and I have a hard time trusting strangers."

"Will you attempt to turn me to stone as well if we don't quite see eye-to-eye?" The Wanderer asked in an almost teasing way as she cocked her head to one side. Vraska opened her mouth to speak, more than clearly offended, but couldn't summon a single word to say in her defense, especially in the petrified presence of the last person she'd turned to stone within the Senate House.

"I-"

"What a scary expression! I joke, of course, I won't pretend I know your reasoning just like you aren't pretending to know me. I for one completely understand that no one can really, truly be trusted, no matter how well you know them." She laughed behind her mask- an outburst that lasted only briefly before she returned to speaking formally. "Ask as many questions as you want, just know that we can't risk to waste too much time."

"What are your connections to Tezzeret? You seem to have a lot more history with him than the rest of us." Vraska immediately pried.

"Getting right to the point, aren't we? No interest in my hobbies or personal tastes, then?" She joked, but Vraska only stared with narrowed eyes and lips drawn thin into a frown. "Hmm, tough crowd."

"My apologies if you were expecting a captive audience for your comedy routine." Vraska grumbled.

"Tezzeret and I were old business partners before Bolas came along and declawed him. To say our dealings were mutually beneficial would be an _incredibly_ bold lie." The Wanderer went on to explain. "He might have made for a formidable henchman under Bolas, but the Tezzeret _I_ knew- the Tezzeret we very well are going to be facing- is a person to be feared."

"So you fear him?" Vraska asked with a slight smirk.

" _Feared_ him- I've worked through the agony he left me with long enough for that fear to be replaced by complete and utter hatred." She corrected with a chillingly cold tone. "Now, I only fear for the multiverse he's been let loose in."

"I take it you don't just wear that mask to be mysterious, don't you?" Vraska made her observation with an air of smugness. "Your old friend Tezzeret left you with a little parting gift, didn't he?"

"Call him my friend again and you'll lose one of those tendrils of yours." The Wanderer was quick to threaten. "Tezzeret is nothing to me, and I look forward to when he will become nothing to the multiverse at large."

Vraska could practically feel The Wanderer's anger- and it was a kind she knew all too well. Whether they be on the inside or the outside, there was a part of her that had been left disfigured, and it drove the rest of her to hunger for revenge. Vraska had gotten hers, but had come away not as satisfied as she had hoped, and she couldn't help but bring herself to wonder if the same would eventually be said for her new traveling companion. Sharing a private kinship with her, Vraska could only hope that ending Tezzeret would being The Wanderer the satisfaction that getting rid of Isperia hadn't for her.

"I hide my face to keep from being pitied, but I assure you, Tezzeret stole more from me than just my beauty." The Wanderer admitted. "I'm doing what I'm doing because I intend to be paid back in full for everything of mine that he took."

"Forgive me for doubting you- it's in my nature to be suspicious." Vraska said, keeping her apology short and sweet. "Seems you and I have a lot more in common than I would have thought."

"And where are your scars, then?" The Wanderer inquired.

"I guess I came out lucky, mine are where most people don't care to even look- my heart, mostly." Vraska admitted.

"Ah, the heart, of course." The Wanderer said in an almost nostalgic tone. "I can almost recall what it's like to have one."

Vraska eyed her wearily, unsure if she was being figurative, or somehow literal.

"Unless you have any more questions for me, Queen Vraska, I suggest we take our leave." She continued before Vraska could really dig in to her comment. "Preferably before our dilly-dallying starts cutting into my payment."

"No doubt you're itching for Tezzeret's head at this point." Vraska snorted. "I'm through with questions for now- maybe once this is all said and done we can continue this conversation."

"I'm afraid our relationship starts and stops with this mission- the last time I formed a bond with anyone, it left me with permanent scars and a grudge that torments me like a curse." The Wanderer responded quickly and cooly, shooting down Vraska before she had a chance to take a breath. "Once I get what I am owed, you and your plane will matter very little to me."

**Teyo Verada**

The world-city of Ravnica was a sight to behold, indeed- of what little Teyo had seen of it, at least. He'd searched all morning, wandering through all manner of side streets and dark corners he normally would have stayed well away from, through crowds and empty corridors and had seen one too many Rakdos performance for his liking. And, for all his walking, wandering and exploring, he felt his exploration hardly made a dent as far as experiencing the sweeping city for all of it's many, many wonders. To see the whole expansive plane itself, he started to imagine it would take a single person a lifetime- a lifetime he didn't have. If anything, he probably didn't have any more than an hour, and it would probably take that long just to get back to Orzhova... empty handed, no less.

Arriving back at the Transguild Promenade, where he'd crossed multiple times to get from here to there, he was bitterly reminded of the first time he and Rat had met, right after his first and only planeswalk, and right before tragedy struck Ravnica. She'd been such a guiding light for him back then, when nothing made sense, and not to say the massive city and all of it's diverse people and customs made any much sense to him now, but his guiding light had hidden herself away. Things seemed so much more chaotic and confusing now, without her constant stream of explanations. She'd seemed so excited he had quite literally fallen into her life, and so readily willing to share her entire world with him, down to the last, insignificant scrap.

_She knew knew I was a planeswalker- knew there was a chance I would leave. All of that... maybe she hoped I would stay. She was selling me the idea this entire time and I..._

Teyo heaved an exhausted, defeated sigh as he lowered himself into a crouch out of the way of the heavy foot traffic that passed through the Promenade. Resting his head against his drawn up knees he chided himself in frustration, his entire wasted morning getting to him more and more with each passing second.

"Why was I so eager to return home, anyway?" He muttered out loud. What even was "home" at that point, now that the entire multiverse was practically laid out before him- when all of the grand world-city of Ravnica remained still largely a mystery to him? Gobakhan was a well-traveled, beaten path in comparison, where the only mystery was when and where a diamondstorm would hit. Ravnica was still very much vast and new- just like Rat.

"Hey, looky here, it's Tart Boy! Imagine meeting you, moping around, in a place like this!" A familiar voice called from above him, accompanied by a familiar jingle of bells, shortly before he felt someone press their foot against his back. He grunted in discomfort, struggling to keep his balance as he steadied himself to look behind him.

"Hekara!" He exclaimed. At the very least, it was a relief to see a familiar face, but in his frantic search for the girl he felt like only he could see, it would be just his luck that the last person he would meet up with in his search would be someone who would be absolutely no help in finding her.

"I've seen you running around like a madman all day- and trust me, I know exactly what _that_ looks like." She laughed as she put a little more weight on his back as she did a mock-sweep of the entire Promanade with her hand over her eyes, like she was searching for something on the horizon that was far from visible from street-level. "Whatever you're looking for, it must be pretty important. If it's something you dropped, you're gonna learn the hard way that this city functions on a sort of finders-keepers kind of policy."

"...I guess you could say that." Teyo muttered, unsure if he should bring up Rat to her. He'd seen how she'd acted the other night, back at Orzhova, and it was clear that she was hurting about not being able to see Rat just as much as Rat was. "I was just about ready to give up, actually..."

"Really!? But the day's so young! And it was really starting to get entertaining watching you run around like a headless chicken." Hekara gasped, still nowhere near satisfied with using Teyo as a human stepping stone. He wondered if she intended to have the entire conversation leaning on him like she was.

"Sorry to ruin your fun- I'll have people waiting on me if I keep this up." He grumbled.

"Oh? Going somewhere?" She asked, leaning forward like she was extremely interested in what he had to say.

"Yeah: home." He said, struggling to hold back his annoyance now. "And I don't mean like somewhere else in the city, my home's on another plane."

"Ah, right, of course, another planeswaker! Your kind's such common gossip now, it's really lost it's charm in my opinion." Hekara sighed dramatically as she finally stepped off of him, allowing him to stand before surprising him by locking arms with him.

"Um, _can I help you!?_ " Teyo couldn't help but snap, but his very obvious annoyance hardly even phased Hekara as she dragged him towards a side road.

"At least let your dear friend, Hekara, treat you to a drink before you go- you look absolutely parched and nothing quenches your thirst and raises your spirits better then, heh, a spirit!" Hekara explained as she forced him along with her, eventually turning into a nearby pub that, in comparison to the busy streets outside, was particularly empty.

 _Not a lot of time to day drink when there's a city to rebuild, I guess,_ Teyo thought to himself as he was dragged to the bar and forced into a seat.

"Alright, fine, _one drink_ , and then I need to-" He began to say, giving in now that there was no other choice.

"Splendid! Barkeep, two of your strongest! Doesn't matter what it is, so long as it can double as a disinfectant!" Hekara unnecessarily bellowed.

"You know, now would be a really great time to say I've never actually drank before..." Teyo said.

"Never a bad time to start! Life's short and then you die, so drink up!" She said cheerily as they were passed two mugs.

"As someone who 'died', I take it you speak from experience." He rolled his eyes as she scooted one of the mugs in front of him. He could honestly smell the drink from where he sat, and he could only dare to imagine what it would taste like.

"Ha! Good one, good one!" Hekara laughed as she picked up her own drink and gave it a cautionary sniff. "Ooff! I'd be careful where you spilled this, I imagine it might have the ability to eat through clothes."

" _Noted..._ " Teyo said as he gently nudged the drink away from himself. It was a kind gesture, but he wanted to be able to walk himself back to Orzhova after everything was said and done.

"So..." Hekara casually tossed out as she took a long sip of her drink like it was nothing. "... How's Rat."

"To be honest, that's who I was looking for this whole time." Teyo admitted.

"What!? Is she alright, what happened!?" Hekara became incredibly serious in the single blink of an eye, drawing in close as she waited with bated breath for what Teyo had to say. It made him uncomfortable, and not just because he wasn't the biggest fan of the bloodwitch, herself.

"I-I don't know. She vanished sometime last night without telling anyone." He explained. "... To be honest, I think it's my fault."

There was honestly no real way of knowing what Hekara would do at _any_ given moment, as far as Teyo had experienced, but he absolutely wasn't expecting for her to reach over and roughly grab him by the collar of his coat and nearly drag him from off of his seat.

"What do you mean it's 'your fault'!? What did you do to my Rat, you sneaky little, world-hopping bastard!?" She snapped. Getting a good look at her now, Teyo made a long, hard mental note to keep from upsetting her again, as the face she made sparked legitimate fear in him- and he'd just lived through a war! "If you hurt her, I swear, I'm going to make your slow-roasted torture the main event at every one of my performances for the next month!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Teyo wildly apologized. "I didn't do anything to her I just- I might have upset her by saying I wanted to go back home, that's all! I didn't do anything on purpose, it was an accident! That's why I was looking for her: so I could apologize!"

"Worthless sack of guts, wanting to leave my Rat all alone!" Hekara snarled, but she did him the favor of letting him go, shoving him back into his seat. "Selfish good-for-nothing you are- I'm taking that drink!" Teyo had absolutely zero qualms as she claimed his mug for herself, knocking it back and finishing it off in only a few, impressive gulps.

"Oh, and you aren't- avoiding her when she clearly means so much to you!?" Teyo couldn't keep himself from attempting to snap back.

"I'm a little busy lately- we all are!" Hekara shouted, slamming an open palm against the bartop, pausing to heave a frustrated breath, and then another, as her shoulders visibly began to sink. "... And you _know_ I can't see her anymore. What good would it do to hang around when we both know I can't...?"

"Sorry..." Teyo said weakly as Hekara slouched back into her seat. "... I shouldn't have said that."

"You're lucky I don't carry a needle and thread on me, or else I would have sewn your mouth shut." She grumbled as she rested her head in an upturned palm. Was it the alcohol finally getting to her, or was it him that was leaving her looking wasted?

"Sorry, again." He parroted, unsure of what else to say. "You must be really fond of her- of Rat."

"'Fond' would be putting it lightly. 'Fond' is for fleeting friends and passable one-night-stands. What I feel for Rat is something that probably doesn't even have just a simple word." She explained. "She's like a spotlight, where I always want to be, making me feel seen, and making me feel beloved. When I'm with Rat, she makes me feel like I'm the only person that matters, and for once, she's the only person who matters to me. She's mine, and I'm hers, and we don't belong to anyone else."

"I hope you get to see her again, all things considered." Teyo said, speaking genuinely. "I'm personally not your biggest fan, but Rat... she _adores_ you."

"Even though I lost the ability to see her?"

"I think it would take a lot more than that to make her change her mind about you." He assured her. "I only wish that she was here right now, so she could have heard what you said. It would have made her so incredibly happy."

"Hmm..." Hekara thoughtfully hummed as she finished off the last of the two drinks. "What if- no."

"What?" Teyo asked cirously. "What is it?"

"You wouldn't want to know, trust me."

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked."

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." Hakara gave in with a slight roll of her eyes. "Have you considered that... maybe there's a chance you lost _your_ ability to see her, too? She could have been following you around all day, and could be in this very room, at this very bar, and you wouldn't even know."

"Wh- _no!_ There's no way, nothing happened that would cause such a thing!" Teyo denied.

"Oh, so now your a big, bold expert on how Rat's curse works, hmm?" Hekara asked with a mocking cock of her eyebrow. "Face it, you don't have any way to prove that you just can't see her anymore. It's just as much a chance as everything else."

"But-"

"I'll let that be my parting gift to you instead- probably stings a lot more than the drinks would." She cut him off as she hopped off her seat, her bells on her shoes jangling wildly as she made an incredible show of doing so. "So long, Tart Boy."

"It's Teyo."

"It's not my problem anymore."

With a glare and an incredibly rude gesture, Hekara bounded and flipped her way out the door, leaving behind the sound of jingling bells that was eventually swallowed up by the hustle and bustle from outside. Teyo, however, was left to sit in silence as he slowly turned to the other chair beside him- the one Hekara hadn't been sitting in.

"...Rat?" He spoke up meekly, getting nothing but silence back in return. Of course, he wouldn't be able to hear anything if she was there and he could no longer perceive her- which he _definitely_ wasn't going to accept! He shook his head furiously, doing his very best to clear his head of doubts while an even bigger pressing concern began to settle in.

Hekara had left him to pay the tab.

**Kaya**

Tomik had gone on ahead to fetch necessary documents and tools for whatever sort of process would aid them in transferring the debtor contracts and, effectively, make him the stand-in Orzhov guildmaster for as long as they needed him to be. It had been a little concerning to her that, right before he left, he had asked if she was squeamish at all, and while she had truthfully told him "no", she couldn't help but wonder to what extent they were going to have to go in order to get their business done.

Pacing in the impressive study of Orzhova (that was just was large and well-outfitted as a grand library) Kaya had plenty of time to think about a lot of things: Rat's disappearance, Teyo's departure, Tomik's safety, and floating to the top was what Teyo had said to her the other night over dinner. He'd even been so bold as to try and use her oath to try and convince her that Liliana Vess deserved a trial rather than death. His heart had probably been in the right place, as it always was with the young man, but it felt so underhanded at the time, it had pissed her off.

"Would it kill you to sit down? Just watching you is making me nervous." Jaya, who had come along with her from the Azorius Senate House, grumbled. The considerably older woman sat in one of the chairs set up around the study, a saucer and cup of tea in her hand that she had asked for almost immediately after they had arrived.

"Sorry..." Kaya said, her apology only half sincere as she stopped- but didn't sit- at a nearby table. "I tend to pace when I have a lot on my mind."

"Well, can't say I'm known throughout the multiverse for my sagely advice, but I have no choice but to listen if you need to get anything off your chest before we depart." Jaya offered after taking a sip of her tea.

"I don't want to be a bother..." Kaya sighed.

"Trust me, everything that doesn't include me finally getting to take a much-needed break from all this madness is a bother, so it's way too late to be thinking about my feelings. You might as well get whatever it is that's eating you off your chest while my offer is still on the table." Jaya muttered

"You probably don't want to hear about it- it's about Liliana Vess..." Kaya admitted as she traced the wooden patterns in the table with her finger. "Does she really deserve to die- what do you think?"

"I think, so long as she is alive, she's only going to bring trouble with her to people she meets and to people she knows." Jaya said as she placed her saucer and cup on the arm rest of her chair and crossed her arms. "And one of those people who she knows is Chandra Nalaar- I already said my piece back at the Senate House, and I meant every word. I don't want her to have to face down one of her friends with the intent to kill her, after she already saw one friend die already. I don't care all that much about the rest of the Gatewatch, but I've watched over that girl for longer than any of them have known her, and I'll be damned if something happens to her that finally breaks her."

"Even though Liliana's the one who killed Nicol Bolas-"

"They still might come to the same conclusion that the guilds have: that her crimes against Ravnica and the multiverse at large far outweigh what she wound up doing for all of us in the end." Jaya cut her off with a slow shake of her head. "She's a danger to the multiverse that betrayed their trust and caused the death of one of their own- and for that reason, I want to see her dead before they decide what her fate should be for themselves."

"But, what if we're wrong in deciding that. What if killing Liliana Vess _isn't_ what's good for the multiverse?" Kaya asked. "I'm in a position where I can't act against the decision to assasinate her, I just... the more I think about it, the more torn I am."

"We all have to live with decisions we have to make because we had no other choice," Jaya sighed heavily. "I've made more than my share, and I'm certainly no mess over them. You just have to accept that, sometimes, not everything can be decided by what is and isn't fair."

"Maybe you're right..." Kaya hung her head just as the doors to the study opened, bringing their conversation to an abrupt close.

"Mistress Kaya, Mister Vrona has arrived." Madame Blaise interrupted.

"About time." Jaya said under her breath.

"Send him in." Kaya said with a nod. "And let's get this over with."

"Sorry for the wait!" Tomik apologized as he entered with three scrolls tucked neatly under his arm. "The procedure called for specific tools and even more specific documents- I had to make extra sure I had gathered the right materials."

"So long as we can pull off your risky little scheme." Kaya said. "Last chance for you to back out if you think it might actually be too much for you."

"After we told the Living Guildpact and the entire council that this was what we were going ahead with? No thanks, I'd rather remove my own fingernails." Tomik refused as he laid the scrolls out on the table, one by one, with an incredible amount of care. "I've already made up my mind. So long as you try not to take your sweet time out there, and so long as I keep from doing anything too strenuous, I'll be fine- much better off that if you were to just try planeswalking as you are now."

"I guess I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to being a free woman..." Kaya said with a nod as she looked over the papers. They were all the same, individual doccument with print small enough to force her to squint, as well as a place for both her and, presumably, Tomik to sign. "Am I expected to read this?"

"In any other situation, yes, but these things are worded to be confusing to the average person on purpose. You'd probably only succeed in giving yourself a headache trying to make sense of all the legalese." Tomik explained.

"Is that an underhanded way of calling me simple?"

"It's a way of saying you're not a trained advokist like I am- we all have our own specialties, and mine is knowing my way around a legal doccument." He was quick to correct her. "With me here, all you have to worry about is your signature."

"And what's wrong with my signature?" Kaya asked crossly.

"Nothing is wrong with it, per se, it's just the spell requires a bit of finesse, and with such a short name, you don't exactly have a lot to work with." Tomik elaborated. "I mean, you could always use a last name, if you have one."

"Nope- absolutely not. The spell is just going to have to deal with me adding a few more curves and flourishes than I usually do, because 'Kaya' is all you're going to get." She shook her head, taking an incredibly firm stance on the simple nature of her signature.

"Alright, have if you're way." Tomik said with a shrug before pulling something from his bag: that something being a rather ornate-looking ceremonial kris.

"Hey, whoa, hold on! You're going to have to explain the process just a little if you're going to go pulling out daggers!" Kaya exclaimed.

"Oh, right, the spell also requires blood from both parties- I did ask if you were squeamish back at the Senate House, didn't I?" Tomik chucked slightly. "I'll just need your finger and-"

"Yeah, I'm going to need all ten of mine if you all want me to kill Liliana Vess with any level of efficiency!" Kaya cut him off sharply, drawing both hands cautiously close to her chest.

"I just need to draw some blood!" Tomik gasped. "The transfer of all of those debts is quite the process, but I promise that it doesn't involve amputation."

"Mister Vrona, the inkwell and pen you requested." Madame Blaise interrupted as she slipped between the two of them and rested them both on the table.

"These will do perfectly, thank you." Tomik gave her a polite nod before turning his attention back to Kaya. "Now, I think we were still on the subject of blood- specifically, I'll be needing your left hand, if you please."

Kaya held out her hand without complaint, allowing him to take it and hold in steady over the inkwell. She extended her finger and flinched slightly as she felt the blade of the kris make a shallow cut right across the tip, from which a crimson pool bloomed and soon flowed from. Kaya watched as three drops of her blood were allowed to drip into the inkwell, mingling with the black liquid that was already inside. She pulled her hand away once Tomik released in, attempting to pop her bleeding digit into her mouth before Madame Blaise took her by the hand instead. Holding her hand as if it were some sort of precious treasure, the chief servitor whispered a few words under her breath before a gentle, white glow encased the tip of Kaya's finger. Once it faded, the cut that had been made across her finger had vanished without a trace.

"Healing magic?" Kaya asked, turning the Madame Blaise who nodded with a considerable amount of pride.

"A woman of my position should at least know that much, Mistress." She said with a smile. "I know enough to keep myself prepared for situations like these."

"You have my thanks, as always."

"And, as always, it's a pleasure."

Tomik cut his own finger and added his own blood, as well, to the mixture, and was left to nurse his own wound as he stirred the whole thing together with the pen Madame Blaise had provided. Once he had finished, and signed each of the documents with his own signature, he handed the pen over to Kaya.

"It needs quite a bit of traction on the parchment, so don't be afraid to get incredibly fancy with it." He told her.

"I'll be sure to pull out all the stops, trust me." Kaya chuckled as she went about carefully signing her name at first, adding unnecessary loops and curves where she normally wouldn't write them. It seemed incredibly silly, but Tomik certainly wasn't stopping her, even when she finished the whole thing off by drawing a large loop around the entire signature in the end. "Fancy enough for you?"

"Well... let' just say that will definitely do the job for the spell, but I'd hold off adopting it for every-day use." Tomik smirked slightly and Kaya rolled her eyes before she went about signing the last two documents in the same fashion.

Once she was finished, Tomik picked up the inkwell with his right hand and took Kaya's left hand with his own. Despite not being given any instruction, so long as it didn't involve getting jabbed by the kris again, Kaya went right along with whatever else the ceremony required. Muttering a low chant under his breath, Tomik upended the inkwell and poured it over both of their hands.

"Excuse me, Mister Vrona, please refrain from pouring that over the carpet!" Madame Blaise gasped, but much to her, as well as Kaya's, surprise, the ink seemed to absorb itself into their skin instead of pouring down and soiling the nice carpet that covered the study floor. Madame Blaise's sigh of relief could be heard all throughout the room.

Kaya watched, memorized, as the signatures, that had once been left upon the parchment, vanished and reappeared upon their skin, the swirling letters going all the way up their arms. Before she could worry about being tattooed by her needlessly fancy signature, however, the writing vanished from there as well... as did the weight from the debts that had been dragging her down for so long. She straightened up, unable to keep herself from smiling as she felt like she could breath easy for the first time in a short, but strenuous, eternity.

Tomik, however, seemed a little worse for wear as he slumped over the table, his hand falling away from hers as if it were tied to a weight that had been dropped to the floor. He cringed and grunted in surprise, his legs bucking under the strain, and it didn't take long for the sheen of sweat to appear on his brow. The joy that Kaya felt over finally achieving her freedom was short lived as she moved to support her friend who looked like he was a small step away from crumpling to the ground.

"Not too pleasant, isn't it?" She asked, attempting to lighten the mood with a laugh.

"I've... definitely felt better." He groaned in response after taking a long, haggard breath.

"It's still not too late to take it all back. If this is all too much for you, we can undo all this and-"

"And I thought I told you that I was prepared to take this on." Tomik sighed as he struggled to stand up on his own. He looked incredibly strained, but after a long, hard adjustment he seemed to ease into it enough to keep from perpetually cringing. "See? I'm getting the hang of things already."

"Impressive recovery, Master Vrona." Kaya complimented with a small bite of sarcasm.

"Tomik will do just fine, Kaya, just like it always has." He said. "It'll be refreshing to hear it from a lot of people, but coming from a friend it just sounds awkward."

"Let's just hope you're just as humble by the time I get back."

"The crushing weight will definitely help with that, believe me." Tomik gave an exhausted chuckle just as the doors to the study flew open. All of them turned in surprise to see Teyo rush in and slam the doors behind him, leaning against them as he heaved a mighty breath and wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Teyo! There you are!" Kaya exclaimed. "What's gotten into you?"

"Me? Oh, nothing, nothing at all, just ran more than I can stand for the day." He panted. "Let's just say a certain bartender isn't going to be my biggest fan for a while..."

"What about Rat?" Kaya asked. "Where is she?"

"I..." Teyo gulped down another breath before hanging his head in shame. If he didn't look miserable before, he certainly looked downright devastated now. "I couldn't find her."

"Oh, that's... I'm sorry." Kaya said nervously. "I wish there was something else we could do, but..."

"It's my fault, I guess it's what I deserve." Teyo muttered with a weak shake of his head. "With any luck, if I find the chance to come back, maybe I'll see her then, and I can apologize until my lungs pop."

"Let's just hope you get the chance sooner rather than later." Kaya attempted to sound hopeful before she turned to Jaya, who was starting to look incredibly impatient.

"I hope you don't mind- we're going to have to take a stop by Gobakhan so Teyo can return home."

"Well, you're both going to have to lead me there, it's no plane I've ever heard of." Jaya sighed as she slowly rose to her feet. "So long as we don't dawdle there, you won't hear any complaints from me."

"Of course." Kaya said with a nod before turning back to Tomik and Madame Blaise, who was going about giving his punctured finger the same healing treatment she had just given her.

"You don't need to worry about a thing, Miss Kaya. My duty is to serve the active guildmaster." She said with a curt nod. "Master Vrona is in as good of hands as you were."

"I would hope so." Kaya said, giving both her and Tomik one last smile before turning back to Teyo and Jaya.

"So, Gobakhan?"

"A little easier said than done- I've only ever planeswalked once, and it was more on accident than anything else." Teyo admitted. "I've never tried to intentionally planeswalk anywhere."

"Well, returning home should be an easy first task. It's the easiest place to planeswalk to, no matter where in the multiverse you are." Kaya explained. "Use whatever it is that helps you create those shields of yours and think of home- it should be easy to pull off."

"Sounds _too_ easy." Teyo spoke doubtfully.

"Try not to over think it."

"That's the problem: I overthink pretty much everything."

"Just do as I instructed, and the rest should come naturally." Kaya attempted to sooth his worries. "And, if anything happens, Jaya and I will be right behind you- I promise."

Teyo made an uncomfortable noise, but didn't argue as he scrunched up his face in concentration. Meanwhile, Kaya's thoughts were still swimming, leaving her feeling weighed down, even without all the debts she had been carrying. She was still worried about Teyo's well being, and now she was extra worried about Rat. Most of all, however, she still couldn't shake her growing concerns over having to kill Liliana Vess, as her duty and her confused moral compass clashed over and over again.

A moment later, in the blink of an eye, Kaya, her companions and her slowly mounting worries vanished from Ravnica completely.

**Vraska**

Vraska had to admit, she had never been to Alara to any extent, so she didn't know at all what to expect as she followed after The Wanderer. All she could do, as she drifted through the blind eternities, was put her faith in her guide and hope they didn't land neck deep in trouble when they arrived. As much as she trusted The Wanderer- which was to say she didn't _not_ trust her, at least- she had a hard time trusting a place that she had never been.

Emerging onto what she assumed was their destination, however, her feet met the softness of sand as the sound of crashing waves filled her ears. The air was incredibly humid, and smelled of saltwater. Everything about this new place was oddly nostalgic, as if they had wound up planeswalking to-

"Hold on a damn minute now!" She exclaimed as her eyes snapped open, her eyes taking in the all-too-familiar scenery and the sea she knew incredibly well. "This is Ixalan!"

"Indeed it is." The Wanderer confirmed with a matter-of-fact tone that managed to make Vraska's blood boil.

"Care to explain what we're doing here instead of Alara, then!?" She snarled in annoyance. "Might I remind you we're on a bit of a tight schedule that doesn't allow for pointless side trips!?"

"Side trip, yes. Pointless, not so much." The Wanderer corrected as she turned to the underbrush that formed a thick cover between the beach and the jungle just beyond. "I didn't want to risk making a scene when we reach our real destination, seeing as it looks like we've been followed."

"Followed!?" Vraska hissed, dropping her voice to a whisper. "By _who!?_ "

"No one that I know, but they've been on our tail since Ravnica, and were doing quite the job to keep from being noticed." The Wanderer said just as a commotion began to echo from beyond the thick foliage. The sound of grunting and feet snapping twigs and disloding rocks could be heard.

"Another planeswalker?" Vraska muttered before making her way to the treeline. "Well, whoever they are, I'll make sure to deal with them quick so we can continue on our way. There's no law on Ravnica that can stop me from doing my business here." Her eyes glowed threateningly as she cautiously approached. Taking hold of the blade she had made sure to bring along with her that had been a near-constant companion the last time she had spent time on Ixalan, she was more than ready to turn whoever it was who was doing a poor job of hiding into stone.

"You picked the wrong woman to stalk!" She yelled as she sliced away the overgrown bushes and weeds that seperated her and her soon-to-be-victim... only to find someone cowering behind a _very_ familiar blue cloak.

"No, wait, Vraska! Stop! It's me!" An equally familiar voice cried out, forcing Vraska to cease her petrification magic in a panic as she stumbled backward, away from the treeline. She had expected a lot of things, but she hadn't expected _this_.

" _JACE!?_ "

"Heh..." He nervously chuckled as he peaked out from behind his cloak, wearing a guilty smile. "... Surprise!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A Brief Visit**

**Teyo Verada**

_Home..._

_Home..._

_Home..._

Focusing on such a simple concept was hard enough to do while not being able to tell which direction was up or down, or whether one was upright, or hurling through the multiverse upside-down. Teyo couldn't quite parse if it had been mere seconds or entire hours as he searched in his heart and out in the swirling, chaotic nothingness- that felt crowded all at the same time- for any traces of Gobakhan to latch onto. He thought upon the sprawling, lifeless deserts, the twin suns that baked the oceans of sand, and the diamondstorms that ravaged them. He thought of the monastery, of his companions- Paran, Arturo, Abedo and Armando- and of Abbot Barrez. None of it called out to his heart or succeded in pulling him towards his destination. Nothing he could concentrate on felt solid, and for a moment that lasted an eternity, he feared he would be lost forever.

As his panic climbed to a boiling point, Teyo's thoughts turned to Rat: his guide, his rock, and his one source of peace in the chaos that was Ravnica. Although thinking of her made his heart ache, it also gave him an idea.

_I shouldn't be searching for things that remind me of home. I need to be searching for a place where I truly felt at home and at peace: a safe place._

Finally, he located something solid, and a path that he felt more than he could see was laid out before him- all he had to do now was follow it. Slowly, but surely, as he pulled himself towards that point, the unfamiliar chaos, that had been swallowing him whole, began to feel familiar and solid. Feet found solid ground, followed very shortly by his knees, leaving him feeling like a newborn goat learning to walk on it's own legs. His hands, that had once been blindly grasping at nothing, met warm soil, as the sound of his own voice gasping in shock surprised him. He took a moment to re-establish who he was, like his identity had lagged behind his body: he was Teyo, average shieldmage on a good day, and an even more average acolyte, and he was...

Teyo opened one eye slowly, then the other, as he relaxed himself from the tight, white-kuckled brace he had been holding himself in. When he had last closed his eyes, he was back on Ravnica, with Kaya, Jaya, Tomik and Madame Blaise in the Orzhova study. But, now he was alongside only the first half of the aforementioned party, among the well-tended plants of the garden his very own hands had helped to sow. The gentle light of the twin setting suns kissed everywhere they managed to touch, including Teyo, who drank in the warmth like a man dying of thirst. A clear, blue sky hung overhead- the only thing that Gobakhan seemed to share with Ravnica.

"I'm... home..." He spoke under his breath, as he took in every detail a second time, like he was making totally sure he wasn't mistaken.

"'Home' looks a lot like a peasant's garden." He heard the familiar voice of Jaya remark behind him. Craning his neck around, he immediately spotted Kaya, standing strong on her feet, and Jaya, who, while she was definitely being helped to right herself, was holding herself a lot better than Teyo, on his hands and knees, was.

"I-It's the garden of my Order!" Teyo explained as he quickly scrambled to his feet with a considerable blush on his cheeks. Even on his own, two feet, the two other, seasoned planeswalkers seemed to still stand over him. "That being, the Order of the Sheildmage, of course..."

"The sheildmage belonging to the Order of the Sheildmage- how appropriate." Kaya was unable to hold back a little bit of a chuckle as she looked around at the variety of fruit trees, vegetables and the many, many succulents that made up the garden. "Did you plant all of this?"

"Not all of it... but a considerable amount, yes." Teyo admitted, unsure if he should feel proud of that particular achievement or not, considering, despite how impressively outfitted the garden, was, he only spent so much time tending to it as a form of punishment. He had a complicated relationship with it, as he did everything and everyone else within the Order, but there was no denying that being among plants that couldn't berate or criticize him was a very peaceful experience. "I get the feeling I'm going to spending a lot more time in it very soon."

"Well, we've arrived, and we've dropped off our little lost planeswalker." Jaya sighed, seeming more impatient than impressed by it all. "Let's get our goodbyes out of the way now, so we can continue to Dominaria. We've already wasted enough time taking the most winding, lengthy path getting here."

"Ah, sorry-" Teyo began to apologize.

"Don't- it's fine, just ignore her, she's just being cranky- you know how the elderly are." Kaya said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she threw a glare in Jaya's direction.

"Well excuse me for not being able to help being old, and for wanting to get this business underway." Jaya grumbled, folding her arms.

"Dominaria isn't going anywhere."

"-But Liliana Vess could very well be!"

Kaya made a conflicted face at the mention of her target, her gaze traveling to the walkway at her feet. However, despite her clearly wavering resolve, she said nothing in opposition, and only gave a quick, stiff nod in response.

"You should go- if anything, you have everyone waiting back on Ravnica for you." Teyo sighed, still not particularly comfortable with the thought that Kaya was still stubbornly duty-bound to her mission of assassinating Liliana. "You don't need to worry about me anymore, I'm home."

He said that, but somehow the words "I'm home" came out almost bitterly, and it baffled Teyo just how much saying them seemed to burn his tongue to speak.

"I..." Kaya muttered before heaving a sigh and turning to Jaya, who looked like she knew what she was about to say before she even spoke a word- and she already didn't like it. "I need a moment- just some time to sort myself out."

"You had more than enough time to 'sort yourself out' on Ravnica!" Jaya snapped, looking winded from a single outburst. "This is no longer about you, this is about the multiverse and the crimes that traitor still needs to answer for!"

"Don't give me that, you're just in this so you can keep the hands of your precious little protege clean!" Kaya shouted back. "That's hardly the 'multiverse' you have in mind, yourself!"

"At least I'm thinking of someone other than myself! While you dig your heels into the dirt, here, that boy who took on your debts is waiting for you back on Ravnica! All of those souls taken much too early will be for nothing! Your _oath_ will be for nothing!" Jaya chided her.

"Don't talk to me about my oath when you've never taken one!" Kaya shrieked, swinging her hand in a wide arc in front of her, furiously. Jaya stumbled back, glowering sharply in response.

"Kaya, what are you saying?" Teyo couldn't help but insert himself into their argument that was reaching a fever pitch. "Back on Ravnica, you said-"

"I know what I said, Teyo!" Kaya seethed, before immediately drawing herself back.

"Sorry..." Teyo said weakly.

"No, I'm sorry, this is just me getting cold feet- normally the jobs I take on are a little more simple and straight forward- not to mention my targets are usually already dead." Kaya muttered as she shook her head that began to sink to the level of her shoulders. "I don't want this to be how we part ways, I don't want you to remember me as being so angry... I need just a little time to collect my thoughts." She paused, throwing an annoyed look over her shoulder at Jaya. "Just a _little_ time."

"You know what your risking- at the end of the day, I'm just a guide." Jaya huffed. "Anything that happens from here will rest firmly on your shoulders."

"I know that..." Kaya grumbled. "Trust me, I've gotten used to this kind of pressure, at least..."

"I don't understand..." Teyo groaned, eyeing Kaya quizzically. "Back at Orzhova, you seemed so keen on the idea of just killing Liliana Vess. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's not a change of heart, alright? It just turns out I have a larger sense of morals when I'm not absolutely fuming over being saddled with a role I never wanted, that's all..." Kaya said, not meeting his gaze. "I know she was the one who brought down Nicol Bolas in the end, I've taken that into account. I don't know her, or the person that she was before this... what she was to the people who thought of her as a friend. I wish I knew her... maybe it would make this decision a little more easy."

She seemed like she was going to continue, but before she could go on, something behind Teyo caught her eye, as well as Jaya's.

"Hey, what's going on out here? Who's there!?" A voice ,that was all too familiar to Teyo, called. With hunched shoulders and a guilty look settling in, Teyo turned around, just in time, to greet Peran, a young minotaur dressed in the same robes as him, who looked back at him as if he'd seen a ghost. "Wh- Teyo!?"

The simple shouting of his name seemed to cause a stir within the monastery, as several other voices, all shouting Teyo's name in surprise and confusion, began to ring from inside. Half a second later, Teyo could hear the sound of footsteps accompanying them, drawing near.

"Oh... Peran... Hi." It occurred to Teyo, in that moment, that he had absolutely no idea how in the world he was going to go about explaining himself, and now it seemed like he hardly even had the time to come up with anything better than a weak, awkward "hi". How would he explain Ravnica? How would he explain _planeswalking?!_ It was all too much to consider, and it was much too late to process even a word of explanation, as a small mob came to meet him in the garden.

"We thought you were dead!" He heard Armando, a fellow acolte, gasp.

"Where have you been!? How did you survive!?" Abedo, another familiar face, asked in disbelief.

"Someone find Abbot Barrez, tell him Teyo's returned from the dead!"

So many voices spoke over one another, leaving Teyo unsure of which question to answer, or what explanation to lead in with first. Aside from the growing pressure of having an endless string of things to answer for, Teyo couldn't help but feel his heart sink a bit over the growing realization that nobody seemed to be very interested in whether or not he was alright. They were all curious, surprised and possibly even a little upset, but hardly anyone seemed concerned that he had been gone for so long. Nobody made mention that they had been worried about him, outside of whether or not he had died. He stumbled through trying to respond to every question, answering none.

"What's all this then!?" The voice of Abbot Barrez cut through the throng as the group of curious acolytes parted to make way for the strict, older man that Teyo couldn't exactly bring himself to feel excited to see (and not that the abbot could, either, it seemed). Instead, he found himself taking a more defensive stance as he hunched his shoulders and bowed his head. Now, of all times, he couldn't even summon the "hi" he had clumsily managed before. "I was starting to wonder when you would come crawling back, Verada- although I'm surprised you've come back with company..."

"It's... a long story..." Teyo managed to force out as he rubbed at his arm uncomfortably.

"I'm sure it is- it's been days since you deserted the Order and left us to search for your body in the diamond dust and sand." The abbot scowled. "But let's not discuss your undoubtedly foolish adventures here- in fact, all of you, no more crowding around in _my garden!_ "

All of the other acolytes, still curious and confused about what had happened with Teyo, slowly filled out of the garden, casting looks over their shoulders to him like they, too, felt they deserved an explanation, and hoped to catch even the slightest bits of it. Curious, confused, disappointed... but not a worried look in the crowd.

"Inside, all three of you." Abbot Barrez commanded once the garden was mostly clear.

"Not exactly the warm welcome I was expecting..." Kaya spoke under her breath as she joined Teyo at his side. "You've been gone for _days,_ he doesn't seem the least bit worried."

"No, but I expected this much." Teyo sighed. "That's home for you: nothing ever really changes, including the people."

Abbot Barrez led the three of them down the diamond-enforced halls of the monastery, all without saying a single word, although Teyo expected him to launch into a furious tirade at any moment, and couldn't bring himself to relax. What would he even say to the man who questioned him at every turn? If the abbot couldn't believe in his ability to be a passable shieldmage, how in all of Gobakhan was he going to convince him that he had been on a completely different world!? He caught his reflection in one of the glittering gems on the wall as they passed, taking note of just how guilty he looked.

 _I don't have anything to be guilty for... but still, it_ feels _like I do..._

It certainly didn't help things that the abbot eventually led them to the now-deserted chapel of the monastery, arguably the more sacred place in the whole building. Being brought here to be spoken to made it start to feel like he had truly done something wrong, when in truth, Teyo hadn't really "done" anything at all- things had just simply "happened" to him. The only thing he could say he had truly "done" in all this was return home, and it had started to negatively impact him even before he had even returned.

"I wish I could say I am surprised to see you, but it's very much within your character to have gone wandering off while we considered preparing some kind of funeral for you. There was a considerable amount of time wasted trying to search for you while you were off making friends, it seems." Abbot Barrez immediately began to dig into Teyo, casting a side glance toward Kaya, who was standing close by, and Jaya, who had taken a seat in one of the wooden benches closest to the back of the room. "Was it fun, mucking about and playing dead?"

"Master I... it wasn't like that at all!" Teyo attempted to explain. "There... there was no way I could have possibly come back until now!"

"Oh, you have no idea how eager I am to hear this, boy." The abbot chuckled in an unamused manner. "Believe me when I say I'm all ears for whatever tall tail you're about to weave."

"Well, you see... it's a bit complicated. It's honestly not something I can easily explain, especially to someone like you, Master." Teyo began, fumbling over each and every word and tripping into sentences like a man stumbling in the dark.

"Someone like me?" The abbot asked with a rough tilt of his head. "So, tell me, boy, what is it that sets us apart, that makes it hard for you to explain your whereabouts these past few days to me!?"

"I..." Teyo froze as his thoughts abandoned him to flounder about on his own. The abbot had started out already upset with him, but he had only managed to make things worse.

"Excuse me, if I may." Much to Teyo's surprise, Kaya spoke up as she arrived at his side, standing proudly beside him. "Abbot Barrez, was it?"

"That's correct- and who might you be? I don't think I've seen the likes of you about- this useless deserter must have traveled quite a ways to meet up with you." He said.

"In a manner of speaking, Teyo traveled an _incredible_ distance to meet with me- an entire dimension away, in fact." Kaya went about explaining. "My name is Kaya, and Teyo and I are what you would call planeswalkers: beings who can travel from one plane of existence to another, as silly as that might sound to someone who hardly sees outside their narrow worldview."

"I beg your pardon?" Abbot Parrez practically growled.

"Kaya..." Teyo gasped, unsure whether to feel guilty she had to stand up for him, or incredibly grateful. Among glimmering gem-covered walls of the chapel, Kaya seemed to outside them all with how brilliant she was to him in that moment.

"Teyo couldn't return to assure you he hadn't died because he was trapped with me on the plane of Ravnica, helping all of to fight against an evil greater than you probably have ever known. Teyo has seen and done many amazing things while he was away, so I would ask for you not to take his absence like he was running away and hiding from you all." She continued, seeming to grow more and more cross with each passing word. "I, as well as Jaya here, can vouch for him that he was doing incredible good and saved many lives."

Abbot Barrez was quiet for a moment, and Teyo couldn't help but be hopeful that he had simply been shocked into silence- that was, until the old man began to chuckle with a slow, exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"I don't think I've heard a more ridiculous lie in my entire life. Cooking up an obvious falsehood about you lot being a band of dimension hoppers and expecting me to buy it is one thing, but trying to convince me that Acolyte Verada could actually muster the strength to save even a _single_ life is almost comedic!" He laughed. "And, really, could you have come up with better names? Kaya, Jaya- and where, might I ask, are Madame Maya and Naya?"

"Funny you should mention Naya, since-"

"Give it a rest, girl, this old fool is a lost cause. You're better off trying to teach a gorilla table manners." Jaya spoke up, having stood from her seat to draw close enough to be heard. "Though he makes a point- remind me to keep from making you a regular traveling companion if this is the sort of jokes we're going to be met with."

"Trust me, I'm already making a lost of people I'd rather not have to see again after this, and you're pretty close to the top." Kaya grumbled.

"Are we quite done- because I'm truly starting to be." Abbot Barrez groaned. "Whatever tale you three have cooked up together, I don't want to hear it. This little play of yours can only be entertaining for so long."

"Well, then maybe a more hands-on example might convince you." Jaya spoke with an incredibly threatening tone.

"Hey, hey, let's not do that-!" Teyo began to attempt to try and calm the older woman down before she turned the chapel into a bonfire with the lot of them still inside. However, before either of those things could be done, a very frantic-looking and sounding Aruto came stumbling into the chapel, interrupting whatever mess was about to break out from what Teyo had hoped would have been a simple explanation.

"Master!" He cried out, drawing the attention of all four of them.

"If you wanted to speak to Acolyte Verada, I'm afraid we're still very busy here-" The abbot began to speak before Aruto cut him off as he shook his head.

"It's not that, Master, it's the Western Cloud! A diamondstorm is approaching!"

**Vraska**

To say Vraska was surprised would be an understatement. She was surprised, shocked, suspicious and furious all at once, as well as more than a little relieved she hadn't succeeded in petrifying Jace who, for some reason, had tailed them all the way there. The look of utter guilt on his face certainly didn't help things.

"Jace, what in the blazing _hell_ are you doing here!?" She snapped. "What are you doing following us!?"

"So you know this interloper?" The Wanderer asked, sheathing her sword, but not all the way, like she still expected things to come to blows.

"Yes, he's my..." Vraska sighed before stopping herself to think. "... lover?"

"Boyfriend?" Jace tossed out as well with a hopeful look and an even more hopeful shrug.

"He's a sneaky little snake is what he is right now!" Vraska groaned, barring down on Jace even more as she continued to grill him with questions. "How did you know to follow us!? Didn't you have a funeral to go to!?"

"I- well... I decided not to attend." Jace admitted, rubbing the back of his head as he scooted back even further into the underbrush.

"You didn't show up to your own friend's funeral!?" Vraska shrieked. "Just the other night, you were talking about how much he meant to you, and now you're not even giving him the courtesy of showing up for his _funeral!?_ "

"Ah, well, when you put it that way..." Jace muttered, flinching a bit at the realization of it all.

"What could have been so important that you decided to stalk me across the multiverse instead of honoring Gideon's memory!?" Vraska asked harshly. "And I don't want any lies or half truths- I want the whole truth, _or else!_ "

"I..." Jace paused, looking just pained enough to make Vraska worry. She couldn't help but feel her heart sink by the way he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes, as he struggled to give her even a slight answer. "... I'm sorry, Vraska, I really am but... I read your mind last night."

"You _WHAT!?_ " Vraska shouted from her very core as she stumbled backward in surprise.

"Look, you're the one who said I could open up to you about anything-!" Jace began to say defensively.

"I also trusted you to trust me enough not to have to dig through my mind to find things out!" Vraska cried, wrapping her arms around herself. It was a simple thing to explain, but even so it left her feeling absolutely violated. "Instead, you invaded my privacy the very second that you had the chance!"

"It's not what you think-!"

"What, are you reading my mind again!?"

"No, Vraska please, just let me explain!" Jace pleaded as he finally scrambled to his feet. "I had never intended to read your mind, last night I came to you as your lover, I had no plans on doing any kind of mind reading, but... before I left last night, while you were asleep... you were tossing and turning, like you were troubled about something, and it was almost on instinct that I-"

"Oh, and it didn't cross your mind to- I don't know- wake me up and find out what it was!?" Vraska growled.

"No, because you wouldn't have been able to tell me! It was about your secret mission Niv-Mizzet sent you on, about having to track down Tezzeret- the one you were told not to tell me about!" Jace explained himself as he attempted to approach her, but Vraska met every step of his with a step backward of her own, eyeing him coldly. "I have a long, complicated history with Tezzeret, but I know how he works and I wanted to make sure you would be safe!"

"I don't care, Jace! I don't care how good you think you're intentions were, you still invaded my mind without my consent! You went ahead and read my mind because you didn't trust me to tell you-!"

"But you didn't! You had the chance all night, but you kept it to yourself! You talked about sharing everything with each other, but you were still keeping secrets!" Jace accused.

"Because I _had_ to!"

"Then what's the point of us being totally open with each other, then, if you're still going to keep things from me!?"

"What's the point of being open if _you're_ just going to force your way inside my mind to make sure I'm sharing every little detail with you!?" Vraska screamed before turning back toward The Wanderer.

"Enough of this, let's just leave this sneaky little-"

Much to her surprise, however, both her and Jace were alone on the sandy beach, with nothing but their boiling anger between the two of them to keep them company. For a moment, silence fell over them, leaving nothing but the sound of crashing waves as Vraska frantically looked up and down the shoreline. Refusing to look back at Jace, with shoulders stiff and hands tightly clenched, Vraska stomped toward the crashing waves to get a better look of where exactly her enigmatic guide might have gone.

"Damnit, where in the ever-loving-"

"Vraska, hold on-!"

"No, no, you stay right there! Don't you dare come any closer!" Vraska snapped. "The farther you keep away from me right now, the better, and the farther I get away, the better! I just need to find where that strange woman is hiding so she can-"

"By the gods! Both of you shut up!" In a flash, The Wanderer reappeared, sounding annoyed as she clutched the sides of her head to nurse a potential headache. Both Vraska and Jace stumbled back in surprise, shocked into silence by her return that had been just as sudden as her disappearance.

"Azor's gall, what are you doing, popping in and out like that!?" Vraska finally exclaimed.

"Forgive me, it's an unfortunate condition I've been cursed with." The Wanderer sighed with a shake of her head. "Like how you have to focus on planeswalking, I have to focus on remaining in one place. Traveling through the Blind Eternities is my natural state, and if I drop my guard for even a moment, I'll be flung back through the multiverse. I didn't give a single damn about your silly lover's spat, to the point where I actually lost focus- you should feel lucky I was able to get back here this fast."

"This would have been an important fact to have shared with me back on Ravnica!" Vraska shouted.

"It didn't seem important- I didn't see much point in letting you know. Excuse me if I didn't feel like sharing every little detail about myself when we had a deadline to meet." The Wanderer explained herself plainly. "But now, it seems, we have much larger problems than my unique nature to worry about."

The both of them slowly turned to Jace, who seemed to falter under the weight of their combined stares.

"Please... Vraska, I've fought against Tezzeret before, I just want to make sure you make it back to Ravnica safe." He pleaded. "We can continue all of this when we get back, but for now I need you to trust me."

"Just asking me to trust you is an incredibly tall order at the moment." Vraska growled.

"It's highly unlikely we'll be able to shake him- and he does have a point, if he does know a thing or two about Tezzeret." The Wanderer said. "At this point, your little feud isn't going to stop him from following after us to Esper."

"...I take it she's correct about that?" Vraska grumbled, glaring at Jace.

"I can't just go back to Ravnica and wait around for you to get back- not at this point." Jace said with a stiff nod. "I won't risk losing you, Vraska."

"And yet, you're willing to risk losing my trust..." She sighed under her breath. "Whatever, clearly nothing I do or say will stop you from doing what you want."

"It's settled then, and now we can continue to our destination." The Wanderer said, sounding oddly pleased. "And, I must say, having Jace Beleren with us now will prove to be _very_ satisfactory."

**Chandra Nalaar**

Returning back to the home of Dovin Baan couldn't have made Chandra any more at ease, oddly enough. The thought of having something to do, that would keep her mind off of her disastrous farewell with Nissa, was more than welcome, and it having to do with finding and taking down one of her own, personal demons was simply just a plus. Not that she would have given any sum to see Baan dead- and even more to be personally involved- but strangely enough, her desire to see the man she hated punished was taking a very far backseat to her issues with her loved one. Her desire for revenge was more of a distraction than a goal.

"Welcome back!" Huatli, who had been waiting just outside, greeted as she ran to meet them. Chandra pretended not to pay attention as she reached out and took Saheeli's hands once the two of them were close enough, and clearly held herself back from giving her an affectionate nuzzle in front of the rest of the group. "Oh, Chandra, you're back, too. Where's that other woman you were with- Nissa, was it?"

"Oh, she... she had something important to do back on Zendikar, and I wanted to help you all catch Baan in the meantime." She fibbed.

"Well, the more heads to put together the better." Huatli said with a nod. "And you must be Mister Ral Zarek- it's nice to get to formally meet you."

"Likewise." Ral returned the gesture before taking a quick look around. "Saheeli mentioned there was someone else-"

"Oh, right! Lucky for me, she was easy to find, and wasn't busy. A lot of planeswalkers are still hanging out around Ravnica, after all." She said. "She's inside, already getting to work as we speak."

"Good, the sooner we can get this all underway, the better." Ral sighed as Huatli led them all inside. Chandra took up the rear, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of her by the mere mention of Nissa. In fact, there would have been a very good chance her beloved would have been there to join them, had Chandra not opened her mouth and pushed her away by complete and utter accident.

_Let's just try not to completely screw things up here, too..._

She found herself being pulled out of her thoughts as something brushed passed her, nearly tripping her up as she followed after the others into the inner chamber of Baan's home. With a gasp, she righted herself and took a step back, coming to find a phantasmal, green wolf crossing her path. It gave her a quick look and a tiny grunt of acknowledgment before it pointed it's nose back towards the ground and carried on following some sort of winding scent trail along the ground.

"You must be the others Huatli told me about." A deep, rich-sounding voice spoke, and Chandra turned away from the wolf just as Vivien Reid stepped from around a nearby corner. She recognized her from back on Ravnica, but had really only ever seen her from a distance. Now that she was up close, Chandra could truly get a good look at yet another planeswalker who had helped them in the fight against Nicol Bolas.

Her skin was a deep, earthy tone that reminded Chandra of a forest, with the greens of her tunic and her cloak adding to her more natural look. She had an incredibly strong build, with muscles standing out beneath her skin, and an equally strong gaze to match. In part, she reminded Chandra a bit of Nissa, but Vivien had a much more world-weary air about her, and lacked the calming warmth that was particular to her absent companion. She was beautiful, but it was most-definitely a beauty forged by tribulation and shaped by a life spent alone.

"It's good to see some familiar faces again." She said with a smile. "I guess our work isn't quite through."

"Not quite, but getting close- I hope." Ral said. "Have you found anything- Saheeli mentioned you would be able to help us in finding out where Dovin Baan might have gone."

"Luck for you, I have managed to stumble across a few things- and over a few things as well." Vivien remarked as she kicked a nearby ruined thopter out of her path and against the wall. "I've picked up a few traces of blood, both in the kitchen and a little bit around here. They both had entirely different scents, so I'm left to assume one belongs to Baan and the other sample belongs to... whoever it was who was also here."

"Anything else?" Ral asked, his voice taking on a more desperate tone. Clearly he was hoping for more than just proof that Dovin Baan had bled inside his house at some point.

"There is one other thing, probably the most significant out of what I've found in my search." Vivien said as she motioned for them to follow her to one of the far walls. Her wolf was waiting for them there, pawing at a particular place on the wall with an impatient whine. Vivien reached down and ran her fingers gently along the iridescent fur on top of the creature's head, giving it wordless praise and sending it back out into the room to sniff out more, hidden clues.

"I found this very early on in my search, and it stood out as particularly odd." She said as she pointed to a long, single slice that was made deep in the stone wall. It was a thin, clean cut, with hardly even the slightest chip left behind. "It's clearly not something left behind by an animal, but at the same time, I'm left to believe a physical blade didn't make this cut, either." She paused as she ran her fingers along the single slice in the wall and held them up to her nose. "I don't detect a hint of metal, and there's nothing left behind that I can identify with just my own senses. All I know is that it's recent, and it's most likely from the same person who destroyed the rest of Dovin Baan's mechanical toys."

"Could it have been done using some kind if magic, then?" Saheeli asked as she drew close to the wall herself to examine it.

"That's the only other guess I have, and that should at least give us a clue as to what sort of mage stopped by to give Dovin Baan a little visit- if you have anything up your sleeve that might help in studying what I've found, that is." Vivien said.

"If I don't, then there's little doubt that I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone. There's been plenty of breakthroughs in Kaladesh's crime-prevention scene as of late, I'm sure we'll be able to find someone who can help us study what few clues we've found." Saheeli spoke proudly. "But, is this all you've managed to find?"

"I'm afraid whoever was here was rather thorough, and Baan himself was careful to leave anything but a little blood behind." Vivien sighed. "I'll keep up my search, but so far my discoveries have been slim."

"Hang on, now." Ral spoke up, suddenly sounding frustrated for as much as he was clearly trying to cover it up. "Exactly how long is this going to take? If this is up to us finding the right person for the job, are you saying all we can do is sit on our hands in the meantime?"

"Unless you're as good with forensics as you are with summoning storms." Saheeli frowned. "I'm not asking for an incredible amount of time, Ral, I know you want to return to Ravnica- and to Mister Tomik specifically- but I, at least, have to ask you to wait a night. I have more than adequate social connections that should make finding what we need easier than if you were to hoof it around Ghirapur yourself."

"You've just been through literal hell- we all have. Maybe you could take this time to relax- it's a rare opportunity to come by, these days." Huatli suggested. "Or, perhaps, if you really want to keep yourself occupied, you could at least devise a strategy of what we'll need to do once we locate Baan."

"Trust me, relaxation is the last thing on my mind right now." Ral muttered. "And what about you- where does your expertise fall in all of this?"

"Ral stop, don't antagonize her!" Chandra scolded while Huatli and Ral eyed each other with a subtle hint of hostility.

"Unlike you, I'm fine with waiting in the wings until I'm needed- I can give my support once we locate the target, but until we find Baan, I'm little more than a poet." Huatli frowned sharply. "Not to undersell my skills in that department, Saheeli can attest to how far a good string of words can get a person."

"That's enough, Huatli," Saheeli sighed, a gentle blush on her cheeks, "and you, too, Ral. Return here tomorrow and we'll discuss what we've found, and where we can go from there. If the type of magic Dovin Baan's visitor used is unique enough, we might be able to identify a myriad of things- and who knows, maybe we saw them in action back on Ravnica."

"There must be something-!" Ral began to argue before Vivien's summon gave him a warning growl. Vivien herself eyed him with a look that was nothing short of annoyed.

"If you want to keep wasting time, please, by all means, keep fighting among yourselves." She grumbled.

"Ral, I promise, your guild and your beloved will be able to wait a night at least- or do you doubt them to be able to take care of themselves without even a second of you being there?" Saheeli asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Have a little faith in them- and in us. Be thankful, something tells me your compatriots aren't getting the same level of help with their assignments, enough to where they have the luxury to take a night to breath."

"Funny, it doesn't feel like a luxury..." Ral muttered under his breath.

"Chandra, unless you can contribute here, maybe you could give Ral Zarek some company." Saheeli suggested. "Maybe give him some insider info about how Dovin Baan operates in the meantime."

"Yeah, sure..." Chandra nodded, secretly a little relieved to not have to hang around Saheeli and Huatli for too long, who seemed to have the compatibility that was just obvious and public enough to make her jealous. Saheeli was a brilliant scientist and inventor, and Huatli was a warrior and a poet, both from very different worlds who couldn't be more of a contrast to one other if they tried- and yet they still made things work. _How_ did they make things work? Unfortunately, she was absolutely certain now wasn't the time to pry for relationship advise. "We can wait things out at my place- well, my mother's place, but it's not like she isn't used to me dropping by with strangers from other planes at this point."

**Teyo Verada**

The sound of warning bells immediately filled the halls soon after, ringing through the chapel loud enough to drown out everyone's voices. On top of everything, now, Teyo found himself on high alert as well. He had faced his fare share of deadly horrors and had seen some incredibly ghastly sights on Ravnica, but a diamondstorm was still just as deadly as it had always been, and was nothing to scoff at even after surviving being attacked by an army of soul-sucking zombies.

"What in the Nine Hells is a diamondstorm?" Jaya asked.

"You can't be serious- Teyo, where did you find these women?" Abbot Barrez scoffed, and Teyo held himself back from literally answering his question- instead, answering Jaya's the best that he possibly could.

"It's- well, exactly what it sounds like." He explained, edging towards the chapel door. "Imagine a powerful storm, but add diamonds about the size of your fist."

"Is there anything we can do?" Kaya asked.

"No, you'll just wind up getting hurt, please just stay here." He pleaded with her.

"In the meantime we can see your heroics in action, since you've taken to being such a savior since you vanished." The abbot shouted over the ringing bells. "Hurry up, boy, we have a village of fools to save."

Teyo bit his lip nervously as a familiar sense of panic began to infect his every thoughts as he followed behind Aruto and the abbot. They were joined by several other acolytes rushing down the hall, bringing all of them practically shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Where are we in evacuating the villagers?" Abbot Barrez asked no one in particular, but it was sure, with everyone there, that someone would be able to give him an answer.

"We have them coming up the hill as we speak, but we might not have enough time- this storm is moving a lot faster than we anticipated."

"If those imbaciles would just reinforce their own housing, then they wouldn't have to risk their own lives coming all the way up here each time." He grumbled. "I'm afraid it's going to take a large-scale tragedy to actually convince those stubborn fools to break from the tired custom of looking to us every single time for safety and put some effort into protecting themselves."

Teyo held his tongue, but a voice inside his head couldn't help but question, wasn't what protecting the people of the village what they were there for? The trip up the mountain to the monastery was always a risky one for the people of the village, but they only did so because they looked to the Order of the Sheildmage for help- encouraging them to be more self-sufficient and less reliant on their protection didn't sit as well with Teyo as it did the abbot.

Much to his worry, a long line of villagers were still making their way up the winding road leading to the monastery- at least, from what he could see through the almost literal wall of sand that forced him to squint and shield his eyes. The rush of sand alone was enough to leave the exposed skin of his face and hands stinging, and it was only a matter of time before it wouldn't be just sand that he would have to worry about.

"What are you all waiting for, all of you!? Shield their path, I don't want even an inch left exposed!" The abbot barked over the whistle of the wind and the clang of the bell, and even through the haze of sand, Teyo could see his harsh gaze settle on him with incredible clarity. "Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes, Master!" Teyo shouted, along with everyone else as they all made their way down the path, positioning themselves close together in a strong, unbroken chain.

It was a strange feeling for Teyo, in that moment, standing between the only friends he had ever known until his journey to Ravnica. He used to feel so safe and confident beside his fellow acolytes, some of whom he'd practically grown up with, but now, even through they were rubbing shoulders and stepping on each others feet, there was a distance that Teyo couldn't quite shake.

_We're any of you even worried about me? Or, are you just like the abbot, and more concerned with how much trouble I caused? Is anyone here even relieved that I'm back?_

"Sheilds up!" The abbot called out, leaving Teyo feeling even more tense than before when he realized he was standing right behind him. Suddenly, making sure the villagers were safe became secondary to trying not to earn the ire of Abbot Barrez. Suddenly, the simple act of summoning his shields became immensely complicated, even though he had spent almost his entire time on Ravnica perfecting his craft that he had once assumed wouldn't even do the job of protecting himself. "Find your lore!"

"Find my lore..." Teyo muttered through his teeth as he formed a triangle of light in each hand. He found himself having to guide his own hands through the process, like he was making a shield for the first time. "Eastern vertical... Western vertical..."

"What are you doing, Verada!? Only a diamond will stop a diamond! Nothing less than four points will do!"

Teyo nodded, even though he wanted to shout over the billowing winds that he knew. Of course he knew, it was simple logic he'd been taught since joining the Order, but his hands and his mind couldn't keep up. He managed to make a meager diamond out of his left-hand triangle, but his right hand felt almost paralyzed, leaving him with only one finger's worth of motion at a time- anything else was too much for him to handle. Even the single diamond he had managed to form paled in comparison to those around him. Everyone else had effortlessly raised their shields and made him seem even more incompetent than he already was.

_I was able to do so much more than this back on Ravnica! I raised defenses strong enough to stop a God-Eternal, so why... why now... when I'm home, when I'm back to doing what I always did, why can't I be able to handle something as simple as this!?_

He chided himself for having to do such a thing again, but he formed a small circle right beneath this right ear, in hopes that the abbot would be too concerned with keeping the villagers safe to notice him struggling to make up for his poor balance. It was enough to help him form both diamonds, at least, but they were hardly the adequate size, if the diamond shards breaking through his barricade were anything to go by. A single, glimmering shard whizzed right by his face, leaving behind a shallow cut along his cheek. However, the sting of the wound was nothing in comparison to the agony he felt in his heart.

"Verada, if you can't hope to even protect yourself, how do you expect to protect anyone else!?"

In that moment, so many of Teyo's other failings came rushing back, leaving him feeling even more unfocused. He'd failed to truly convince Kaya to spare Liliana Vess, even when her own sense of duty began to wane, and he had failed to notice Rat's feelings. He's been so eager to return home, to people who he felt he only inconvenienced- people who were his friends because he was apart of all they had ever known. He was so concerned with returning to _this_ that he had disregarded the first, true friend he had ever made- and only the gods knew where she was at this point, certainly nowhere that he could find.

_Maybe I lost the ability to see her, after all, just like I lost the ability to summon a decent sheild..._

Teyo fought for control of his own, frantically wandering thoughts as commands were shouted, over and over, down the line- commands he, himself, could hardly follow as he struggled to keep up with both his compatriots and the absolute speed and power of the storm. Already, the diamonds slamming against his shields were the size of marbles, and this was hardly the extent of things. If he didn't act quick soon, he'd be dealing with much larger problems, with much smaller shields.

"By the Cloud, what is this!?" He heard Abbot Barrez's voice directly behind him now. "Did it really take a few days to forget all that I have taught you? You're a less of a shieldmage now than you were before you abandoned us- and I take no pleasure in seeing just how far you have backslid! And what is this, a circle!?"

"Yes, Master, I-" Teyo began to explain. Surely, if it was helping him keep his balance, was something like this really all that bad? Unfortunately, by the way the abbot gripped his shoulder and gave him a single, furious shake, it seemed to be.

"Are you child, Verada!? This is hardly orthodoxy, it's just another sign of just how much you've cast aside my teachings!" The abbot barked. "Know that you will survive this storm, because your fellow acolytes actually have the skill to protect your useless hide along with everyone else, and once this is over, you will be taught again- in a manner that will ensure that you _never_ forget!"

"Yes, Master..." Teyo spoke, his voice hardly more than a whisper, overpowered by the sound of his shields beginning to crack against the strain. He felt like he couldn't even breath until he felt the abbot release him, starting to walk down the line and shouting orders over the overwhelming cacophony of diamonds bashing against the rows and rows of shields.

"Abedo, compensate for this worthless ingrate! Expand your lore!"

"Yes, Abbot."

Not a word was spoken in Teyo's defense. Not a word was spoken to encourage him. They simply made up for what he lacked, and treated him like a weak link in the chain. Was this a new development, because he had vanished, or was this how things always had been that he had grown blind to it before?

This wasn't friendship, or hardly even belonging. Rat had been the one to show him what real friendship could be.

"Teyo!"

_Rat..._

"Teyo!"

"R-Rat?" He spoke aloud this time. Was it really her voice he could hear, or was he just hearing things in the wind.

"Teyo, I know you can hear me! Don't make me pinch you!"

" _RAT!?_ " Teyo exclaimed this time, feeling as if his heart was going to up and leap out of this throat as he looked down at his side to find the very girl huddled close to him, just barely protecting herself behind his crumbling shields. "A-am I going mad!?"

"No- but _sheesh,_ this storm is insane! I take back what I said about them before, these diamondstorms really are intense!" She gasped, jumping as a rather large diamond crashed against his shield, and he struggled to keep it from totally coming undone.

"What are you even doing here!? What's going on!?" Teyo asked frantically. "This can't be happening, how did you wind up here!? There's just no way, unless you're-" He gazed down at her in surprise, his mouth starting to hang open as he put two and two together. "-Are you!?"

"It's kind of a new development! It's a wild story, trust me, you're going to have to sit down to the entire thing or else it's going to knock you back onto your ass- but right now I don't think we have much time!" Rat spoke excitedly, crying out in surprise as another diamond threatened to tear through his defenses. "It'll be a little hard to explain everything if we're beaten to a bloody pulp by actual diamonds- and what a way to go that would be!"

"But... I can't even..." Teyo muttered, starting to realize the gravity of the situation. Even with the others making up for what he lacked, there was still a significant gap, and even the smallest weakness in their defense could mean death.

"What are you saying, I saw you do much better than the rest of these stuck-up bozos back on Ravnica! You're capable of doing amazing things Teyo, and I don't want to put too much pressure on you, but a little bit more amazing right now would be fantastic!" Rat insisted. "You're a planeswalker, Teyo! You have that amazing, awesome spark, so use it before we're turned into Rat and Teyo jam!"

She clung to him, facing into the storm with frightened awe- but there was hardly an ounce of regret in her eyes. She believed in him, wholeheartedly and completely, and had no visible doubts that he could protect them both. Teyo had so many questions and so little answers, but he did know one thing for certain, and that was that he was going to protect her, regardless of how in the whole multiverse Rat had gotten on Gobakhan.

_Is this the feeling I was meant to feel, that Kaya told me about? The feeling of home?_

Teyo pushed against the storm with everything he had, while he returned the circle back to his ear to help with his balance. He reached deep, drawing from every vertex, pulling and pushing from all directions. He felt Rat reach up and take him by the wrist, and from there it was as if the warmth from her small hand spread out through his entire body. For the first time since returning home, he actually felt content, even while facing against such a powerful storm.

_Gobakhan isn't home- it's where I'm from, but I've found home. It's wherever my true friends are, like Kaya, and Rat. Home is right by their side! They are what helps to create my shields!_

A powerful, collective gasp could be heard over the wailing winds and the sharp pitter-patter of diamonds, and even Teyo couldn't help but exclaim in awe over what he had become capable of. From one end of the line of acolytes to the other, a large, impenetrable shape stretched, standing strong against the storm. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, with sides upon sides expanding the shield that glimmered from the hail of diamonds- and not just that, it had just as incredible depth as well. One by one, everyone else among their ranks dropped their shields that no longer served a purpose in the wake of what Teyo had created.

The one person who wasn't gasping or exclaiming at the sight of his geometry was Abbot Barrez, who had gone absolutely silent- which Teyo was more than happy to take.

"Rat, it's okay." Teyo said, his voice overcome with emotion as he looked down at the girl who was still pressed tight against him. "You can go take shelter in the monastery with the others."

"No way, and miss this!? You're not getting rid of me that easily!" Rat shook her head. "Besides, someone has to look out for the shieldmage, and that might as well be me!"

"Rat... thank you."

_I'm home._

The two of them stood in silence, with Teyo holding his shield and Rat holding his wrist, until the villagers had all been led to safety and the storm had died down. By the time he was given the chance to lower his mighty shield, Teyo felt as good as spent, along with something else: accomplishment. For the first time in a good, long while, he truly felt as if he had done something significant. Everyone else hung back, still staring up at where Teyo's geometry had once stood strong, and he accepted their shocked silence over praise, allowing himself the chance to bask in it.

"... Rat?" He spoke up, realizing she was no longer holding his wrist or pressing herself against him. For a moment, he feared she had disappeared again, only to find her a small distance down the hill, stuffing diamonds into her pockets.

"Karlovs ghost, these are actual diamonds- the real deal! A good few handful of these and I could get myself a place as impressive as Mistress Kaya's! I could live like royalty!" She cheered, looking down at her greedy handfuls of gems with childlike glee. "It's a shame these storms could kill me, or else I'd stop by as much as I could!"

" _Rat!_ " Teyo called as he stumbled down the hill, kicking through piles of sand and diamonds to get to her. "What are you doing here!?"

"Ah, right, sorry, I got distracted!" Rat gasped, dropping her diamonds as she quickly stood up, suddenly looking extremely on edge. "Teyo, I planeswalked! The night before you left I... I don't think I've ever been that devastated in my life, to be honest..."

"I'm sorry! I should have considered how you felt." Teyo apologized. "If it's any consolation, I've felt absolutely awful ever since you vanished."

"Well, anguish no more!"

"And you _planeswalked!?_ "

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't! It took me a while to find this place, all I had to go off of was the name, but I'm glad I got here when I did!" Rat gasped. "But, we don't have time to celebrate! I'll give you the whole, sweeping tale of my epic travels some other time, right now we need to scram!" She said this, but quickly squatted back down and filled the last space in her pockets with diamonds.

"But why? What's going on?" Teyo asked, unsure if he should take her into the monastery with him, for fear she would try and pick the diamonds off of the walls.

"It's about the others: Queen Vraska and Guildmaster Ral Zarek!" she exclaimed. "They're walking right into a trap!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning Signs**

**Kaya**

The second that Teyo had left, Kaya couldn't even consider sitting still. While the wind howled outside, and as people started slowly filling the monastery, she had taken to pacing, the length at which she was able to even walk becoming shorter and shorter the more crowded it got. Every once in a while, she drew herself out of her worried trance long enough to spot Jaya, her expression of discontent growing stronger and stronger the longer Kaya paced and the less elbow room she had.

"Nothing is stopping us from planeswalking out of here, you know?" She mentioned at one point, having to raise her voice above more than her desired grumble as she uncomfortably shuffled away from a stranger who she was brushing shoulders with. "The boy clearly has more than enough help, he doesn't need us here anymore- and meanwhile, we have somewhere _we_ should be getting to, if you recall."

"I'm not leaving until the storm is over, at least!" Kaya shot back, standing her ground. She knew, as well as Jaya, that the old woman couldn't up and leave in her impatience without her. She needed Kaya to do her duty in assassinating Liliana, and Kaya needed Jaya to lead her to Dominaria. Until the two of them could agree on when to leave, they were stuck there, storm or no storm. "Until I see Teyo walking through those doors, we're staying."

"Hmph, maybe by then, you'll have made up your damn mind." Jaya muttered, although Kaya could still hear her, even over the nervous banter of the growing crowd. "I swear, I've seen _tides_ that shift less than your resolve."

Kaya chose to ignore her, going back to pacing as the wind outside picked up. She could hear the chunks of what she assumed were probably the diamond part of the diamondstorm pelting the walls of the monastery. On top of that, it certainly didn't help to hear the worried gossip of the villagers that were pilling in: about how this was the strongest storm they had seen in ages, and how fast and unexpected it was. They were worried for the monks, who were risking their lives outside to shield the villagers still filling in, and so was Kaya.

 _Worrying about Teyo, worrying about Tomik, worrying about whether or not it's morally right to assassinate Liliana Vess... It seems all I've been doing is worrying. I just wish there was a clear path that I could take in all this. I wish things were_ simpler.

The second she had taken her oath, she had hoped there would be a clear path she could follow, left well-worn by the members of the gatewatch who came before her. Instead, it seemed to only complicate things, leaving her wound up and caught in a web of conflicted morality- over leaving Teyo behind, over saddling Tomik with her title and all the debts that came with it, and even over the killing of a single woman. Now that she was so deeply, thoroughly snared, she wondered if things would ever be simple at all.

_This was the type of thing I had wanted to escape in the first place, and yet..._

Continuing her pacing, she could only, truly judge how things were going based on the noise coming from outside, as well as the noise inside. She heard talk of an impressive shield, as the overall attitude of the villagers turned from being worried and grim, to being hopeful and even impressed. They all seemed to be in brighter spirits- save for Jaya, of course- but Kaya wanted a look for herself. She couldn't take overhearing every bit of news second hand any longer. It made her seem even more helpless than she already felt.

"Ugh, enough of this!" She groaned as she turned on her heel, mid-pace, and made her way out of the chapel, slowly but surely.

"Now where are you going?" She heard Jaya ask, who was surprisingly hot on her tail the second she made a move to leave. Perhaps she was hoping to be there the very _second_ Kaya decided to leave, or maybe she wanted out of that crowded room just as much as her. Whatever it was, Kaya made sure to push people out of the way a bit more to make way for the other member of her small party, but didn't bother to slow her pace.

"I'm getting tired of just sitting around here, waiting!" She said sharply.

"Not that you did much sitting." Jaya commented, but made no move to stop her as Kaya led the way down the cramped hallway.

All the way through, they heard whispers and gasps of what was happening outside. Everyone sounded different shades and tones of amazed- something impressive must have happened that had lifted their spirits considerably, and it motivated Kaya to push and shove her way through the crowd even faster, tripping and stumbling her way to what she hoped was an exit and not just another crowded room of people.

"Teyo..." She found herself muttering as she rounded a corner. She spotted the pale light of fading daylight streaming in from a nearby doorway, and made her way towards it in a frantic dash.

However, just as she made her escape into the open air outside the monastery, she ran into someone, sending both them and her stumbling backward. Kaya gasped, completely caught off guard as her powerful drive forward was brought to a crashing halt.

"Gods, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I wasn't looking where I was-"

She stopped, at first thinking her eyes were simply deceiving her. Maybe, on top of everything else, she was starting to hallucinate, but the more she stared as she regained her bearings, the more she was left to make the stunning conclusion that she wasn't overcome by an illusion her mind had cooked up in her worry.

"Mistress Kaya!"

"Rat!" She exclaimed, just as her brain finally caught up with her body. "Wait, wait, hold on- _RAT!?_ "

"It's awfully convenient you're here, we were just coming to look for you!" Rat said with a large sigh of relief. "We have to act- and _fast!_ "

"What? We have to... wait, hold on, I'm... This doesn't make any sense!" Kaya shouted, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. "You're _here!_ "

"Yes!" Rat said with a curt nod.

"On _Gobakhan!_ "

"Yep!"

" _How!?_ " Kaya practically screamed.

"Same way you got here- I planeswalked!" Rat explained, as if it were obvious, with an added roll of her eyes, like she was annoyed she was even being asked. "The details aren't really that important now, though, because-"

"Like hell they aren't!" Kaya cut her off. "Teyo was running all over the city looking for you- you had us worried!"

"Aww, you were worried about little old me?" Rat chuckled, turning to Teyo who came running up from behind her, looking just as baffled and perplexed as Kaya felt in that moment. But, at the very least, he was alive, without hardly even a scratch on him. She had several questions for _him_ , as well, but the simple fact that Rat was standing between them, acting like her suddenly being able to planeswalk was hardly that big of a deal, took incredible precedence.

"Of course I was worried, what kind of question is that?" Teyo sighed, reaching down to ruffle her hair. "Did you really think we wouldn't be after you vanished during the night?"

"Would you be mad at me if I said 'yes'?" Rat asked with a slight shrug. "You were all so eager to leave, I just figured... wait, no, now isn't the time! We can listen to my sob story once we get our butts on the multiversal road!"

"Would either of you mind telling me exactly what's going on?" Jaya spoke up impatiently from behind Kaya. "I feel like I'm only catching half of a conversation, and I'm understanding all of _none_ of it."

"What, can't you see that- oh, wait. Right, you probably can't." Kaya muttered, realizing that Jaya couldn't see the girl who had become the very center of their attention.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm being mocked here?" Jaya grumbled, resting her hands on her hips in a exhausted fashion.

"Nobody is mocking anybody, we promise!" Teyo assured her, tracing his hands around Rat who looked like she was seconds away from exploding from whatever she was being forced to hold in. "The very abridged version of all that is we have an invisible friend who planeswalked here, even though, up until yesterday, she definitely wasn't a planeswalker."

"I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you aren't lying to try and make a fool out of me, boy." Jaya frowned, squinting in Rat's direction.

"Trust me, even if I wanted to, now isn't the time or the place. I promise, she's right-"

" _Guildmaster Ral Zarek and Queen Vraska are walking right into a trap, and we're the only ones who can help them!_ " Rat abruptly yelled.

"They're _what!?_ " Kaya exclaimed at a volume even louder than Rat.

"I take it your invisible friend isn't done with the surprises?" Jaya asked, obviously forcing herself from sounding too skeptical.

"Yes but- what do you mean, a trap!?" Kaya asked, unable to prioritize filling Jaya in completely over getting to the bottom of Rat's news. "What kind of trap!?"

"It's that one goon of Nicol Bolas': Tezzeret! I got a one in a million chance when I planeswalked, and wound up landing myself in wherever he's hiding out, _and_ I got to hear what he was planning. I don't know about you, but that's more than enough coincidences to believe it's my destiny to stop him!" Rat explained, clearly trying to shorten her tale as best as she could. "He was making plans with a weird woman, who said she was going to guide Queen Vraska to him!"

"The Wanderer! _She's_ working for Tezzeret!?" Kaya gasped.

"I knew something seemed off about that girl..." Jaya added, narrowing her eyes. "I should have said something during the council meeting."

"They have Dovin Baan in on it, too- Tezzeret's trying to get everyone to where he's hiding!" Rat continued, growing more and more concerned by the second. "I didn't stick around to hear the details, because I knew I had to come find you all, but he must be luring them all in to try and do something nasty!"

"We've been given this chance- we can't just ignore what's going on!" Teyo said in agreement.

"'We'?" Kaya asked with a raised eyebrow. "What, no plans to stick around after we brought you all the way here? You were so eager to return home before." Despite her words, Kaya couldn't keep herself from smiling. Even if it meant they had wasted a trip, she wasn't the slightest bit upset.

"I was..." Teyo sighed, looking down the hill towards the people he had once called his family, but hardly with even an ounce of familial warmth. There was a gentle smile on his lips, but it was more one of calm resolve than anything else. "I guess 'home' has a whole new meaning when the entire multiverse is at your fingertips. It just took me a quick visit to realize that."

The three of them paused as they all looked to the oldest, as well as most vocally negative, member of their group, bracing themselves as if they were bracing for a second diamondstorm.

"I hate to admit it... but this pointless detour here _did_ give your invisible friend a chance to catch up to us." She said with a huff. "You'll get yourself your well-deserved mouth-full once this is all over, but in the meantime, perhaps our unseen companion has a plan?"

"It's Rat."

"Her name's Rat." Kaya relayed.

"Well, does _Miss Rat_ have a plan, then?" Jaya asked again, clearly forcing herself to humor them.

" _She_ was more or less hoping you all could help with that." Rat said as she toed the ground nervously. "I'm pretty new to all of this: both planeswalking, and staging rescues. It's asking a bit much, but if we all put our heads together, maybe we can come up with something."

"She came here without a plan, didn't she?" Jaya asked when all she got back was silence and concerned looks from both Teyo and Kaya.

"We have a chance to surprise him- he's expecting Ral and Vraska, but not us. No matter what we come up with, Tezzeret isn't going to expect it." Kaya said thoughtfully.

"But what can _we_ do? I mean, I'm not doubting any of you, but there's only four of us against- _who knows_ what Tezzeret has planned." Teyo admitted. "We're not exactly an army."

Kaya suddenly perked up, a revelation strong enough to make her entire body shiver hitting her like the diamondstorm that had just passed. Suddenly, it was as if the tangled web she was caught in had become a single lead that she could grab hold of- and hold tight she did.

"We're not- but we might know someone who is." She proposed as she turned to Jaya. "And we know just where we might find her."

"... You aren't suggesting-?" Jaya frowned disapprovingly, shaking her head. "You're insane."

"Perhaps- we'll just have to find out and see," Kaya said, refusing to budge, "once we get to Dominaria."

**Chandra Nalaar**

After getting to meet and house the colorful cast of characters who were the Gatewatch, Pia was more than happy to find Chandra bringing only one person home with her. And, while Ral was hardly one for small talk, and was quick to retire early, Chandra found herself awake, even after her mother had gone to bed. The house, without all of her friends occupying every, little bit of space, seemed empty, huge and cold, and it left her feeling restless. With nothing else to distract her, without a sound to catch her attention, she was left to drift deep into her thoughts again.

Was she doing the wrong thing, after all? Maybe, throwing herself into Ral's plans to hunt down Dovin Baan wasn't the smartest idea, regardless of her personal stakes in the matter. Maybe, Zendikar was a more appropriate direction to throw herself- but at this point, she wondered if she would even be welcomed. She wondered if she would come away only empty handed and broken-hearted.

Instead of impulsively planeswalking to Zendikar, Chandra's nerves kept her glued to the chair at her dining room table, in the dark.

"What would _you_ do in this situation, Gids?" She sighed, asking the darkness that provided nothing but the same, crushing silence as it had before. "What am I saying, you would go running after me if _we_ got into a fight, wouldn't you? Not like me, I'm just a coward. I'm going after Dovin Baan, but it's all just an excuse to run away."

"So, um, do you normally have a habit of talking to yourself, or-"

Chandra gasped as she sat up in her chair, scooting it backward with a loud screech against the polished stone floor. Ral Zarek peered back at her, fully rounding the corner to step into the dining room. The way he held himself made it easy to tell that the hours he had spent away hadn't been dedicated to getting a decent amount of shut-eye. In fact, he seemed even more discontent than he had been when they had first arrived.

"-I only ask because I've met people who are _literally_ invisible, so..."

"Can't sleep either?" Chandra asked, deciding not to divulge she had gotten into the habit of airing out her worries to a dead man.

"Not even if I wanted to." Ral sighed. "I can go somewhere else if you want to be alone to... talk."

"Are you being considerate, or are you making fun of me?" Chandra chuckled weakly as she stood up from her seat. "Regardless, you can stay. I could use some actual, physical company. I've gotten so used to being in a group almost all the time, being alone is almost overwhelming."

"It's okay, you can admit when you're lonely." Ral remarked, clearly making a joke, but it hit with just enough truth for it to sting. "Lonely" was absolutely one of the things Chandra was feeling, and it was mostly from the absence of a single person, rather than a constant group.

"Let's move this little meeting somewhere else." She sighed. "Since we're awake, we can at least get some fresh air instead of staying cooped up in here."

"Not a fan of coming home so soon?" Ral asked as he followed after her.

"'Home' doesn't really feel like 'home' lately, to be honest." Chandra admitted. "'Home' feels like it's planes away right now."

Chandra led Ral up and out onto the roof, and wound up sitting herself exactly where she had sat just a night ago with Nissa, but from where she sat, it felt like a long eternity ago. Long gone was the woman who she had come to love, with the comforting warmth of her fingers laced between her's absent, leaving Chandra to rest her hand against the cold, unfeeling stone of the rooftop. The view seemed even more dull than before without her by her side, there to listen to her troubles.

Ral Zarek and his massive, troubled sigh that he heaved as he plopped down beside her would have to do.

"Not a fan of waiting?" She pried, trying her best not to make the moment all about her and her feelings of longing that were eating her up inside.

"Not even during normal circumstances, but especially now. _Now_ , I have a whole guild waiting on me to return..." Ral admitted, casting a gaze, that seemed to mimic how Chandra felt, out over the rooftops. "There's also someone else waiting back home for me... I don't want to keep him waiting, he has enough to worry about without having to also be concerned about whether I'm okay or not."

"Oh, you mean your lover... Tonic?" Chandra stammered, almost 100% sure she had gotten it wrong, and having that feeling solidified as Ral rolled his eyes.

"It's _Tomik_."

"Right, sorry." She apologized. "... You must really care about him."

"More than anyone or anything else on Ravnica- and throughout the whole multiverse. I would normally downplay it around others, but lately I don't see the point, and you don't seem like the person who would take advantage of that fact." Ral said as he rested his chin tiredly in his upturned palm. "The whole plane could go up in flames, and I'd be perfectly alright with that, so long as Tomik would be safe."

"I guess that's love for you, huh?"

"Yeah..." Ral said with a longing sigh. " _Love._ "

"Being apart of two different guilds, you must practically be from two different worlds..." Chandra said, trying not to sound too on the nose. "... How do you make something like that even work?"

"You make it sound like we pull if off so seamlessly. Trust me, maintaining a relationship like ours is a lot of work. It's a lot of bickering and arguing, and sometimes I even want to reach out and _shake him_. He's so serious about everything, and has to have everything tied so neatly into a perfect bow, I wonder sometimes if he finds me lacking in some areas." Ral mused, strangely enough with a smile on his face that left Chandra feeling perplexed.

"But you still love him?"

"Of course I do. Nothing would change how I feel about him. I love him, down to his most nit-picky, perfectionist traits. Those are things that make up the man I love after all." Ral said, seeming at ease for the first time since their journey began. "It's a lot of work, and a lot of careful communicating, but I'm more than happy to put the work in, even for the rest of our lives."

"Because you love him." Chandra said, looking out over the quiet city as a breeze blew back her hair.

"Something tells me you have a lot more on your mind than just getting your revenge on Baan." Ral noted, sounding curious. "If you could beat around the bush a little less, I might be able to give you a little advice."

"I just..." Chandra began on a strong note, but quickly deflated as she slumped forward in defeat. "Does being overwhelmed by all that work I would have to put in make me a coward?"

"I take it you haven't had that many romantic relationships." Ral said with a gentle laugh.

"A lot of almosts and could have beens..." Chandra reflected. "I'm pretty sure this is the first time someone has taken my feelings... and _returned_ them. But now, I feel frozen, because I don't know the next step. I don't know where to go from here, so I just get... _frustrated_. I wind up ruining a good thing because I don't know what to do with it."

"Ah, yeah, I get it." Ral softly agreed with a nod. "It's easy to get overwhelmed the first time you find someone who loves you back. It feels like you could screw things up at any moment, like you're constantly half a step away from saying the wrong thing. It's your first time finally getting something good, and you don't want to ruin it- am I right?"

"Are you a mind reader?" Chandra asked cautiously.

"No, no, that's Jace's territory. I'm just a guy whose been around the block when it comes to romance." Ral chuckled. "To be fair, though, you _are_ pretty easy to read, even without mind reading."

"I like wearing my heart on my sleeve- helps with summoning flames." Chandra joked. "But, if you're so good with all this romance stuff, what should I do, then? I want to make what I have work, but I keep on screwing it up!"

"Well-"

Before Ral could begin to answer, a tiny thopter popped up from over the edge of the roof, its tiny propeller blades slicing through the air and making a high-pitched buzz as it zipped into view. Both Ral and Chandra leaped back, scrambling to their feet.

"Do you think it's from Saheeli?" Ral asked, sounding hopeful.

"She has a little more finesse than this- if it was from her, she would have sent one of her little birds." Chandra shook her head. "This is from someone else."

"That would be correct." Much to their surprise, the sound of a voice came from the thopter- and a very familiar one at that. "It would seem you're a lot more observant that I took you for."

"Baan!" Chandra growled. "Where are you, you little bastard? I'm going to finish what we started back on Ravnica!"

"Now, now, let's not be too hasty." Dovin Baan's voice responded. "You've already helped in robbing me of my sight- you might as well have killed me."

"'Might as well have' isn't going to cut it- not this time!" Chandra snapped.

"Not even when I'm willing to call a truce? I have information that you might find very valuable- it might even save a life or two, if you play your cards right." He offered. "In exchange for sparing life, I can give you information about Tezzeret and his scheme to kill all of you who have been sent to hunt us down."

"Fat chance-!" Chandra snarled before Ral took her by the shoulder and pulled her back. "Hey!"

"How can we trust you? Someone as smart as you must know we won't exactly buy everything you say." Ral asked cautiously.

"I'm a man in no position to lay any traps. I've been stripped of my resources, as well as my sight, and all I have that would be of any value to me is what I know about Tezzeret, and what he's planning." Dovin explained as the thopter flitted between Ral and Chandra, avoiding a swat from the later. "I could have gone along with his original plan, and lured you both to your doom, but I know Tezzeret enough to know that he schemes against everyone, even his allies. Even if I did as I was told, there's no guarantee I would wind up in better circumstances- or even alive. In a game of his, I'm disposable, but, if I help you, instead, I'm _invaluable_."

"Well? Out with it, then, if you have such important information." Ral said, still sounding unconvinced.

"Not here, not where I can't monitor you after I hand over what I know, where other's might be listening." Dovin said. "You'll follow this thopter and come to me, where our transaction can be more personal. Come armed, if you truly don't believe me, I'll give you time to make your plans- just another show of the legitimacy of my offer."

The thopter whizzed out of reach, but not quite out of sight, as it hovered over the building, wings buzzing away. Meanwhile, Ral turned to Chandra, who was obviously more than ready to speak against the whole ordeal. She drew in a sharp breath, but Ral was quick to stop her.

"This is our only chance!" He hissed.

"That's some faith you're putting in Saheeli and the others, are you really going to value that snake's offer over their help?" Chandra asked harshly. "This is way too risky, you can count me out!"

"Then you can stay here!" He snapped. "I'm not going to waste my time finding a clue that leads to another clue that leads to an endless trail of clues. It's not that I'm not thankful for the help Saheeli and the others have provided... but I'll take any chance to get back to Ravnica sooner."

"So you can be with Tomik again, huh?" Chandra judgmentally questioned.

"So what if it is!? Am I supposed to be ashamed of that!?" Ral shouted, losing control for a moment before reeling himself in with a long, quivering breath. His brow furrowed intensely as he closed his eyes, as if Chandra were a horrible migraine he was trying to force out. "Maybe if you had someone like I do, you would know how I feel. I don't want to keep myself away by going on these sorts of long, meandering adventures. I have someone I want to return to, and who I want to stay for, understand!?"

"I..." Chandra responded with a wavering voice, unable to hide just how shaken she was over Ral's words. There was a reason she was satisfied with just following clues that wouldn't immediately lead them to their goals, even with her hatred of Baan fueling her. There was comfort in just spinning her wheels endlessly all over the multiverse, so she wouldn't have to face a challenge that made taking out one of her greatest enemies pale in comparison.

Ral, for all of his faults, was everything Chandra wished she had the courage to be.

"Look, I get it if you're too suspicious to come, but I'm not passing up this chance. With or without you, I'm going." He said with a huff as he pushed passed her, leaving her to stumble for a second before she straightened up, eyes full of wavering determination.

"Wait!" She called out, spinning on her heel and hurrying after him. "I'm coming."

"I wouldn't force yourself-" Ral began to respond bitterly before Chandra cut him off.

"I said I'm coming, I've made up my mind!" She shot back. "You're not the only one of us who has someone they need to return to."

**Ral Zarek**

Following after Dovin Baan's thopter, through the empty, darkened city streets, Ral could only hope that him and Chandra weren't getting led into a trap. They were more than prepared for a fight, even though he wanted nothing more than to find only what they were promised: Dovin Baan, armed only with information about Tezzeret and whatever he was planning. It meant the safety of the others: Vraska, Kaya and those who had agreed to help them. It meant returning to Ravnica, a completely free man pardoned of his crimes and left to oversee the Izzet League in relative peace. It meant returning to Tomik, and whatever answer he had for him.

There hadn't been any time, let alone a method to try and alert Saheeli and the others, and there was always the chance that Baan would get flighty if they arrived with a mob. As much as he wanted to involve them, Chandra's presence was all he could afford.

"How much further are you going to take us?" She asked impatiently after the thopter. "At this rate, it will be morning by the time we get to where you're hiding."

"Keeping myself this hidden is for my own safety. Tezzeret has others, aside from me, in his employ, and they would, no doubt, come for my head if they discovered I was helping you." Dovin explained. "Forgive me, if you really did think this meeting was going to take place out in the open, in the middle of this city of fools who rejected my vision."

The thopter veered sharply to the left, leading them down a narrow stairway that was practically crushed between two buildings. The walkway was so small, it would force Ral and Chandra to walk single file, shuffling sideways. Both of them stopped at the entrance, looking down into the murky shadows the stairs led down into, with not even a shred of light that remained illuminating the streets making it all the way down.

"Not exactly the type of place where we can strategically defend ourselves from an ambush." Chandra suspiciously noted as she peered into the darkness.

"It's not too late to go back, you know." Ral muttered, to which she clicked her tongue and summoned a flame that was meager, in terms of what she could normally produce, but would do just fine in lighting their way and not much else.

"Nonsense, I made up my mind already, you're not going to shake me off now." She said with a grumble. "In fact, I'll take the lead." She shuffled in between the two buildings and made her way down, hardly even throwing a single look over her shoulder to make sure Ral was following behind.

"So... You mentioned you had someone earlier?" Ral asked after a brief silence. It seemed, even though the stairs zig and zagged endlessly between buildings, they didn't seem to be bringing them to an exit any time soon. "Pardon my assumption, but I assumed Gideon was-"

"He could have been." Chandra cut him off efficiently. "He never was, but... it would have been nice. Hell, it would have been perfect. _He_ was perfect..." Her sigh was loud enough to reverberate up and around the narrow hall, washing over the both of them like a solemn wave.

"So, if not the late hero, then who?" Ral pried.

"You probably met her, but chances are, she didn't take the time to introduce herself. It's not that she does it to be rude, though, words just aren't her forte." She began. "She's the one who raised Vitu-Ghazi, which was probably a good enough introduction, anyway. The whole city probably knows about her in some capacity, so there was probably no need for formalities. Her name's Nissa... she's from Zendikar."

"Ah, right, she's quite the infamous figure, as far as Selesnya is concerned. So, where is she, now? Isn't she apart of your little club? It would make a lot of sense for you both to be working together." Ral asked, earning a second, loud sigh. "What? Was it something I said?"

"No, it's something _I_ said- to her, not to you..." She muttered. "Let's just say that romance is a lot harder than I thought it would be, but saying the wrong thing at the wrong time is easy, and possibly a hobby of mine."

"Not much farther now." Dovin Baan's voice suddenly buzzed from the thopter up ahead, cutting through their conversation and directing it away from whatever it was Chandra was going to say. Not that she seemed to mind, at least, the potential of finally getting to face down their enemy taking precedence over her confession. He wasn't sure if they'd ever get the chance to get back onto the topic again, but Ral made the mental note, nonetheless, to revisit it, if they ever got the chance.

"Last chance to back out of all this." She said, looking over her shoulder to him.

"At this point, we'd literally have to back our way out- I don't think there's enough room in here to completely turn around." Ral quipped before shaking his head. "There's no turning back from here, in any case."

"I guess you're right." Chandra weakly agreed just as the thopter took a sharp right down an even narrower path. It was so small, the two of them would have walked right passed it without even acknowledging it was there.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me." She muttered as the thopter buzzed out of the reach of her flame's glow, leaving behind only the whirring beat of its wings to echo from the shadows. "What do we do now?"

"Suck it in, I guess." Ral said with a shrug, although the tone of his voice was just as weary as hers.

"I won't even be able to hold up a hand in there." She remarked as she extinguished her flame with a single, quick shake of her hand, bathing the both of them in darkness. "Let's just hope there isn't any obstacles from here on out."

"To be honest, I don't even think obstacles of any kind would even fit down there." Ral chuckled, listening for the sound of Chandra slipping down the even narrower hallway, the sound of her armor scraping against the stone walls accompanying her.

He followed shortly after, grunting in discomfort as he shifted into the right position where he could just barely slip inside. With his neck craned upwards, he could just barely see the slightest sliver of sky peeking out from between the buildings that towered around them- or, at this point, were they starting to head down below them, into the bowels of the city, among the sewers?

"This is all starting to seem more and more like a set-up for a trap." Chandra grunted. "I can hardly even take a full breath in here."

"I chose this location purely because it's so difficult to get to. No one can come down here quickly or quietly enough without me hearing them first, and large-enough mobs will get themselves stuck within these walls." Dovin Baan's voice came again, the beating of thopter wings buzzing overhead, up and down the narrow hall.

"What exactly is this place? It's so narrow, it's hardly practical..." Ral asked.

"Oh, this isn't a place meant to be used as a walkway, this path was formed exclusively for water to flow from the streets down onto the sewers- or at least, it used to be. Better, easily maintainable methods were built years ago, so you're the first people to venture down here in ages." Dovin explained. "Which, now that I've mentioned it... do watch your step."

"A little hard when we can't see anything at aaAAA-!" Chandra gasped, her exclamation quickly followed by the sound of her feet scraping against the ground. After that, there was an eerie silence.

"Chandra? Chandra, where are you!?" Ral called out into the murky blackness, picking up his pace the best he could. "What's going oooOOH-!"

Before he could get his answer, it was given to him by force as the ground below him suddenly grew slippery, causing him to fall. Immediately afterward, there was a steep drop-off, and with nothing to hold on to to try and stop himself, Ral could do nothing but fall and hope that solid ground wasn't too far behind. Unfortunately, the only bright-side he could identify was that the walls had opened up- in fact, now matter how far he reached, as he slid down the slippery slope into the darkness, he couldn't reach a thing.

Just as quickly as ground had vanished from beneath his feet, however, Ral's fall came to an end, leaving him to skid and tumble onto solid, level ground. It was definitely a landing that would leave him with considerable bruising, but nothing that left him seriously injured. With a long, sore groan, he rolled onto his back once he came to a stop, lifting his aching arms to rub at his throbbing head.

"That was an _impressively_ rough landing." He heard Chandra's voice call out before her familiar flame lit up his vision. Her planting herself right in his line of sight made the fact that the world seemed to be spinning all the more prevalent. "I take it you don't fall down into a lot of pits very often."

Chandra looked a little scuffed up, with her clothes torn here and there, with dirt and grime hiding any potential injuries, if there were any. She wiped at her cheek, but it only succeeded in leaving a filthy, muddy trail across her skin.

"I don't make a habit of it, no..." Ral grunted as he reached up and grabbed her hand that she offered and used it to right himself back onto his feet. He was honestly surprised at how easily she was able to yank him back onto his feet. "Let's just hope that's the only pit we have to fall down into tonight."

"Not to worry, that's the last of it." Came Dovin Baan's voice, now loud and clear, no longer echoing from the tiny chamber of his thopter. Both of them turned to greet their foe as he slunk into the light of Chandra's flame

He wore a bandage over his injured eyes, as well as a victorious smirk, as if he already knew the outcome of their meeting and that it would end positively in his favor. His outward appearance seemed like he had only bothered to change his bandages since either of them had last seen him, all the way down the the char marks on his clothes, but, for a man who prided himself on perfection, these things didn't bother him one bit. Maybe, it was because he just couldn't see them...

"I hope your landing wasn't too rough." He said with a chuckle, revealing his insincerity.

"Not as rough as you're going to land once I knock you the hell out." Chandra threatened, clenching her free hand into a tight fist.

"Chandra, don't." Ral said as he reached out and forced her to lower her arm. "We need him conscious... for now."

"Whatever it is, it better be good." She growled, eyeing Dovin with a hostile glare.

"Trust me, the information I have will leave you absolutely riveted- I'd bet my very life on it." He said with a smirk.

"Maybe save the build-up for another time." Ral cut in. "Now isn't the time for suspense."

"I suppose that's true- the longer we stay here, the further along Tezzeret's plans will run." Dovin chuckled. "Tezzeret is building quite the elaborate trap for anyone looking to come after him- and I know the source of its power, and it's one flaw. Find it, and remove it from the equation, and you'll be sparing countless lives."

"What is it, then!?" Chandra snapped impatiently. "Tell us what it is, and where Tezzeret is hiding!"

"I'd consider lowering your voice if I were you." Dovin said with a frown. "We're quite deep underground, but that doesn't mean that your voice can't travel back up for someone to h-"

A sudden rush of air, followed by a sickeningly moist noise, cut Dovin off as he shuddered. His eyes grew wide as his mouth hung open, a agonized gasp replacing whatever words were going to come next. In a shockingly sickening display, his entire upper body slid to one side, completely independent of his hips and legs, before sloughing off completely and falling to the ground with a disgusting smack. A spray of blood filled the air as the rest of Dovin Baan fell to the ground as well in a messy, bloody heap.

" _Shit!_ " Chandra exclaimed as she stumbled back, hands clasped over her mouth in both surprise and nausia. Ral reacted similarly, his eyes glued to the fresh corpse of Dovin Baan, the man he was meant to kill in the first place. But this brutal act hadn't been his doing... so _who...?_

The sound of footsteps trudging through the thick puddle of blood tore their attention away from the gory display, and towards the person who positioned themselves behind it. They swung a sword in a wide arc in front of them, flinging blood and gore free from the weapon before slowly, carefully sheathing it. They didn't seem at all interested in Ral and Chandra at first, and instead stared down at the two pieces of Dovin's body from beneath their wide-brimmed hat.

"You!" Ral gasped, pointing an accusing finger. "You're that woman who agreed to help Vraska: The Wanderer!"

"Ah, yes, her. For someone who calls herself a 'Queen', she was very easy to take care of." The Wanderer said with a shrug. "Lucky for me, that gave me some time to take out this traitorous piece of garbage- although, unlike him, we actually saw this coming..."

"What are you doing!?" Ral gasped. "Don't tell me.. you've been working for Tezzeret all this time?"

"Not completely- my partnership with him is a new, surprising development, but he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I hate the man with a passion, but not even I will turn away a reward as sweet as what he offered," She explained. "As for what I'm doing... you could always follow after me to find out."

Before Ral could get in another word, she vanished with a quick sudden breeze.

"Oh no you don't!" Chandra bellowed.

"Chandra, wait a second, don't-!" Ral began to protest, but his words fell on deaf ears as she vanished in a furious explosion on flame. All that remained in the chamber, now bathed in darkness, was Ral and Dovin's motionless corpse that he could barely make out on the ground.

Ral bit his lip nervously, knowing full well that The Wanderer could be leading them right into a trap. However, it was a trap that they were, at least, aware of, thanks to Dovin. And, if what he had said was true, then it was a trap that could be easily undone, so long as they found the single, standalone flaw. If he left now, perhaps they could overwhelm The Wanderer, and live to find whatever it was that held Tezzeret's trap together. Maybe, they could even find Vraska- hopefully alive.

Armed with hardly anything but his hopes. Ral planeswalked after the both of them, leaving Dovin Baan's body behind.

**Liliana Vess**

It was honestly quite amazing what could get done in such short time with a horde of zombies. Already, the basic framework for the old Vess mansion had been almost completely erected to the best of Liliana's memory without hardly even a hiccup, and she had hardly even had to lift a finger. Most of her effort had gone to ignoring the constant, nagging voice of the Raven Man and the steadily growing whispers of the Onakke that filled her with a confusing mixture of annoyance and dread. Dealing with them was work enough for her- the rest could be left up to the zombies, including keeping an eye out for intruders.

And, it seemed, they were just as good with catching them as they were with construction.

"I've been expecting guests- I'm sorry I couldn't quite have the place finished in time for your arrival, but..." Liliana paused as she gave the lot her zombies had brought before her a glance that was more than obviously unimpressed. She stared at the group her loyal undead had brought before her like she were looking over an unsatisfying meal as she drummed her fingers against her frowning lips. "... I was expecting more familiar faces."

"You're hardly an impressive sight yourself." Jaya huffed, her annoyance rivaling Liliana's. "Sorry, I didn't think to host a reunion for you so soon after you betrayed everyone."

"Th-this is quite the impressive place- did zombies build all of this?" The tanned young man of the group commented nervously, flinching away from a zombie that had brought its face just a little too close to his. "I never thought one could use the undead for... _infrastructure_."

"Who _are_ you!?" Liliana snapped. "I assume you're the assassins sent from Ravnica to hunt me down, but were you really the best they had to offer? We're pickings really so slim that they sent a group of nobodies and an old hag, who all are overpowered by a few dozen zombies, to kill me?"

"'Old hag'...Look whose talking." Jaya could be heard muttering under her breath.

"You should get rid of them, and stop wasting our time." Liliana could hear the Raven Man say, as if he were lurking right behind her.

"Shut up!" Liliana snapped, conveniently having the same response for both of them.

"My name is Kaya, I'm the guildmaster of the Orzhov Syndicate- or, at least, I was, the title is kind of up in the air right now, it's complicated." The dark-skinned woman introduced herself. "I was manipulated by Nicol Bolas not too long before all of this, I'm surprised he never even mentioned me."

"I don't have time to look into every fool who got caught in Bolas' complicated web." Liliana said, turning up her nose.

"I-I'm Teyo, I'm just a friend- hardly what you'd call an assassin," the young man added, "And that's-"

Despite how tightly they were held captive, Kaya managed to reach out and strike him quickly against the shoulder, stopping him from continuing with what he had planned to say. The two of them shared looks, him with a look of flustered innocence and her with a warning glare, while Liliana watched them closely in suspicion.

"-And we didn't come here to try and kill you- or, at least, that was originally the plan, but things have taken a rather drastic change." Kaya continued in Teyo's stead, diverting Liliana's attention to what was a surprisingly new development. "If we had come here to kill you, I'd have had a knife to your throat already."

"You've seen me work, girl, you know what I'm truly capable of, and it's _certainly_ not this." Jaya added. "I'd have burned this little building project you have going on to the ground if we didn't come here in peace."

Looking between the two potentially deadly women he was grouped with, Teyo gave a meek shrug, clearly being there purely as a victim of circumstance.

"We've come here to ask you for your help!" Kaya said abruptly.

" _My_ help? Surely, you must be joking." Liliana scoffed, folding her arms. She had been prepared to manipulate a group of hired assassins, so it was incredibly ironic that being asked for her help instead was throwing a troubling wrench in her plans. "What could you possibly need my help with? I don't know if you've heard, but I don't have the most spotless track record."

"I'm sure the name Tezzeret means something to you." Kaya briefly explained.

"I suppose..." Liliana said, doing her very best to keep from sounding eager in the slightest. It was almost amazing how quickly things had gone from being the opposite of what she had expected to falling so-very-gracefully in her favor. "What about him?"

"We need your help to put a stop to whatever he's planning- we got word he's set up a trap for whoever comes looking for him, and we know that you know him better than all of us." Kaya continued, looking up at Liliana with a surprisingly hopeful gaze. To say it made Liliana uncomfortable, being the focus of such genuine trust, would be a heavy understatement. She almost found herself wishing the three of them had come to actually kill her, not ask for her help.

_I can't even help one person. I can't even help myself._

"If you came here hoping I would help from the word go, just by asking me nicely, I'd have to say you have incredibly awful intel." Liliana sighed. "I want Tezzeret gone as much as the next person, he's not exactly on my list of go-to favorites, but what makes you think I'd be gung-ho to help you stop him because- what? Because it's the right thing to do? For the greater good? Do I strike you as the type of person who would be motivated by things like that?"

"You killed Nicol Bolas!" Teyo cut in.

"Yes, because the bastard was practically keeping me as his slave, and I had an opening. I killed a horrible monster, sure, but only because it would benefit me." Liliana cruely explained, glaring down at the young man the hardest that she could. "Trust me, it's something I do a lot."

"We're giving you a chance to redeem yourself! If you help us in saving our friends and taking down Tezzeret, it could potentially get you a pardon!" Kaya offered. Again, the genuine tone in her voice, without a hint of trickery to be found, filled Liliana with discomfort.

"Who says I wanted a pardon? What makes you think I even want to be forgiven?" She asked sharply. "If you want to try and stop Tezzeret, I won't stop you- in fact, I'd even encourage it- but if you think I'm in a big hurry to join another little gang of do-gooders, then I honestly mourn for your ability to properly judge character."

"You should take this offer into consideration a bit more, my only ticket back into Ravnica is you- alive or dead." Kaya frowned. "If you won't come with us, then the next time we meet, I'll be here to kill you."

"Oh, I welcome you to return once you handle all of the dirty work." Liliana said with a dark chuckle. "Then, I'll know you were successful, and once I use your blood to paint the walls of my home, I can stroll into Tezzeret's hideout and take what he stole from me."

"But-"

"Kaya, stop, don't waste any more of your breath." Jaya cut her off before she could continue to plead their case. "I had a feeling we'd be met with resistance, let's not waste our time trying to move a mountain."

"Finally, someone speaking some sense." Liliana smirked as the motioned for her zombified horde to let go of them, allowing the three of them to stand. "Run along now and save the day without me."

"Are you really not willing to help us at all?" Kaya asked her with a tone of disappointment. "You were apart of the Gatewatch once, you must have some capacity to do good!"

"Hmph, you must have me confused with another Liliana Vess, then." Liliana said, refusing to be moved in the slightest. " _That_ stupid girl died on Ravnica."

"You..." Kaya growled, an angry shiver running through her before Teyo reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"We should go..." He spoke softly, defeat heavy in his voice. "You tried."

"I do look forward to seeing you again, though. We can catch up while I have you torn limb from limb." Liliana said with heavy sacrasm. "And do tell Tezzeret I said hello."

All three of them eyed her with varying levels of disdain, remaining in her presence for only a moment more before, one by one, Jaya, Teyo and, lastly, Kaya, planeswalked away, leaving Liliana with only her zombies for company. However, even though they were gone, Liliana refused to drop her guard.

"You know..." She spoke out loud, casting a glare over her shoulder. "Just because my zombies can't see you, for whatever reason, doesn't mean that I cant."

Her gaze settled on a young, scrappy-looking girl, who went as stiff as statue as Liliana set her sights on her.

"Y-you can see me!? Like, just like that!?" She gasped. "I'm gonna be honest, I don't know whether to feel shocked or happy about this."

"What do you want?" Liliana asked, cutting right to the chase impatiently. "Shouldn't you be following after your annoying friends?"

"Honestly, I was hoping to try and persuade you, like maybe I could influence you without being seen- I sort of planned this all on the fly. I wasn't expecting you to be able to flat-out see me, though." She rambled, acting more embarrassed than anything. "I'm Rat, by the way."

"I don't care." Liliana responded coldly. "I'd run along if I were you, you're only going to succeed in bothering me at this point."

"You can't really think of yourself as being irredeemable, can you!?" Rat persisted, ignoring Liliana entirely.

"I'm pretty positive I am- and between me and you, I think I know myself a little better." Liliana grumbled.

"Gideon Jura didn't think so."

Liliana's gut reaction to simply hearing his name was immediate and intense. A confusing multitude of emotions practically assaulted her, and she was left to simply act on the loudest, largest out of the chaotic storm brewing in her heart: anger.

"Say his name again and I'll reduce you to a rotting pulp and use your remains as fertilizer!" She threatened.

"Gideon Jura, Gideon Jura, Gideon Jura!" Rat remained unafraid, irritatingly so. "Do you think he saved your life so you could mope around here and have a pity party with your zombies!?"

"What I decide to do with my life is my own business. That idiot doesn't have any say in what I decide to do because he's dead!" She shouted back. "He's the one who decided to save a monster! I didn't ask for this!"

"But you needed it!" Rat insisted.

"What I need is for all of you to just leave me the hell alone!" Liliana bellowed furiously. She was more than ready to rot the skin right off of the girl's bones if she didn't make herself scarce in the next few seconds, or however long it would take to run over and grab her by the throat. However, before she could take her anger and frustrations out on her unfortunate, persistent visitor, the sound of someone else arriving interrupted her.

"Come to pick up your irritating, little straggler?" She asked harshly as she turned around. But, what greeted her, instead, was a different, familiar face entirely- as well as a strikingly-familiar blue cloak.

Crumpled on the ground, in a weakened heap at her feet, was Jace. He stared blankly ahead, heaving uneven, shallow breaths, and clutched a wound at his side that dyed that entire side of this clothes a deep, dirty crimson. His gaze met her's for only a second, but he hardly acknowledged her, while she looked down at him with wide-eyed shock. For a moment, as their eyes met, she couldn't move, breath, or even think.

"Vras...ka..." He mumbled before his eyes rolled back and he fell, face first, onto the ground.

Facing down Kaya and the others, Liliana had been so very certain of her plans, and what needed to be done. She had her work cut out for her, but her path, as long as it appeared to be, was certain. Now, looking down at the bloodied, battered body of the man who had been both her ally, enemy and everything in-between, she was unsure about _everything_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Distant Thunder**

**Jace Beleren**

_Vraska..._

_Vraska I..._

"Save it," were the first words that flew from Vraska's mouth the moment she had a chance to speak, shrugging away from Jace the very second that she could. She wasn't the mind reader out of the two, but somehow she knew that Jace would attempt to try and plead his case when they arrived on Esper. His hand was outstretched, but she tore herself out of his reach, her feet crunching against the sand beneath their feet.

"I second that motion." The Wanderer added soon after, her blade already unsheathed, itching to cut something- or someone- down, now that they were on the same plane as her nemesis. Jace hadn't the time nor the patience to ask, but her very obvious disdain for Tezzeret that colored every surface thought was information enough. "Focus on the task at hand, this isn't a date."

Jace pressed his lips together in frustration, eyes glued to Vraska's back she had pointedly faced towards him. It was a shame that he could see into people's minds, and not see into the future, or else this could have been avoided. Truthfully, he could have avoided a lot of things...

"Have we arrived, or is this another detour?" Vraska asked sharply, looking over her shoulder at The Wanderer. The three of them looked around, only finding layers and layers of fog that hung in the air like thick curtains, almost enough to obscure the very ground below them.

"This isn't a tour of the multiverse I'm taking you on, we _are_ on Esper." The Wanderer confirmed. "Although, it's a little foggier than I remember..."

While she hummed thoughtfully, Jace couldn't help but feel as if something was off. The persistent gloom that hid their path hung still in the air, not even a single tendril of vapor curling or drifting in any direction. Even as a slight breeze blew past, the fog remained stubbornly in place. He waved a hand in front of himself in a wide arc, and none of the soupy murk dispersed.

"This isn't fog." He said aloud, earning him two very confused looks from the others, who clearly needed a little more context into his conclusion. Jace froze up nervously, fumbling with words. "I-It's an illusion. Wherever Tezzeret is hiding, he doesn't want to be found."

"Any chance you could possibly lift it, then? I've seen the way you work back on Ravnica, I know you deal in this sort of thing." The Wanderer suggested, sounding impatient behind her mask.

"If it were in a smaller area, maybe, but I don't think I could dispel an illusion this large." He admitted. "I doubt Tezzeret is even making it himself, he might be using something else to create it. Trying to get rid of this might just wind up being a waste of time."

"Well, then, let's hope you're more useful in handling Tezzeret then you are with dealing with a little illusion." She muttered.

"It's not a little-" Jace began to argue, but stopped himself and drew a long, calming breath that, truly, only succeeded in filling his lungs. There was a lot of things going on at once that a cleansing breath wasn't going to solve. He looked over his shoulder to Vraska, once more, who seemed to be considering which direction to head in, her feet leaving meandering trails in the sand.

There was a natural instinct to just reach out and read her mind. There, he could find the simple solutions to everything: how to sooth her already boiling anger, how exactly to appeal to her in order to see things from his perspective, how to please her... He shook his head, disgusted with himself for even considering the idea. Even if it would make things easier for him, even if it would help to smooth out the wrinkle that he caused, it wouldn't do anything for their relationship in the long-term, and would only wind up hurting Vraska.

A distant rumbling jostled him from his thoughts, catching each of their attention as they gazed into the thick fog.

"Thunder?" Vraska questioned aloud.

"That didn't sound like thunder." The Wanderer remarked, shaking her head. They all stood in silence, apprehensively waiting for the noise to echo from somewhere unseen again. Hardly even a breath could be heard between them.

Suddenly, with hardly any warning, the foggy illusion was lifted, the fake clouds parting and swirling out of sight, followed by a powerful wind that forced Jace to cover his eyes. He heard another rumble, although this one was incredibly close- close enough to _feel_. A spray of sand kept him from lowering his arm, and forced him backward as he stumbled out of the way of something. He had no way of knowing what, or where Vraska or the Wanderer were, as panic began to overtake his surprise.

A high-pitched wail forced him to finally drop his guard, and he took stock of where both The Wanderer and Vraska were, before turning to the source of the noise. The Wanderer had been forced a little farther back than Jace, and Vraska was much further away now, but easy to spot now that the fog was gone. And, what had it parted for, then? Jace craned his neck up, immediately meeting the intimidatingly glowing eyes of a massive stone gargoyle, its solid, rocky form encased in swirling, metallic etherium. It let out another deafening screech as it took a threatening step towards them, a single one of its massive paws slamming against the ground and sending tremors beneath the shifting sand that were nearly enough to shake Jace from off his feet.

The only silver lining in all of this could be seen just barely over the gargoyle's shoulder, peaking out above the now thinned-out fog: the twisting peaks of what Jace could only assume was Tezzeret's fortress. It wasn't very far from where they were, but it felt leagues away in the presence of the looming, growling threat before them that was forcing them backward with every step.

"I can't imagine turning an already stone-creature to stone is going to do us any good, huh?" The Wanderer called over to Vraska, who had drawn her sword, but looked like she hadn't the first clue of where, or how to strike. "And you, tag-along, any bright ideas?"

Jace considered possibly conjuring an illusion to make copies of himself, in an attempt to try and confuse the intimidatingly massive beast, but between them and the fortress, there wasn't any cover, and the chances of being caught up to easily by their foe far outnumbered any amount of clones he could create. This was a creature with no mind to take hold of, and no fear to exploit. It was a creation, whose only command was to squash them beneath its mighty feet.

"Tick-tock lover boy!"

"I'm thinking!" Jace couldn't help but snap from the mounting stress.

"You'll have plenty of time to think when this monster is picking you out from between its toes!" She shot back. "Go with you gut, while you still have it!"

"But-" He began to protest before the gargoyle shierked as it bore down on them, its glowing sights set on him specifically. It lunged forward, while also kicking up an incredible wave of sand with its girth, and a single flap of its wings sped up the approach. Jace gasped, which was all he had time to do.

" _JACE!_ " Panic heightened his senses, as he heard Vraska call his name over the rest of the noise.

An incredible forced knocked the giant stone creature off its balance, the trajectory of its pounce altered significantly as it screamed. Jace watched in un-blinking horror as it missed him completely, crashing into the sand instead and rolling to a messy, ungraceful halt. Relief lasted only a second, though, before something landed with a loud thud in front of him, mere inches from crushing him underneath: one of the gargoyle's paws, sliced clean from the rest of its body.

"Damn it all!" He heard The Wanderer practically snarl as she sheathed her sword. "I finally get a chance to face Tezzeret, and I wind up having to play around with one of his little toys instead!"

"You-"

"Don't even bother, you can thank me after we're done here!" She cut him off as she forced her way passed him. "You two go on ahead, I'll handle this big, stone road block and meet up with you..." The sound of screeching cut her off as the two of them looked up, dozens of smaller, dark shapes blotting out their view of the sky. "-If I ever catch a _break_ , that is!"

"Jace, let's go!" He heard Vraska call from over his shoulder, and if that wasn't enough to force him to abandon their companion, she took her sword and stuck the tip of her blade right in his face.

"Get going!" She commanded. "And promise me: you'll make Tezzeret hurt before you kill him."

"Jace, come on!"

"I'll do my best!" In his hurry, he responded a little too politely to such a harsh request, and turned away from The Wanderer and her sword to catch up to Vraska, who had already started to run, sword sill in hand. Without a word, and with Tezzeret's fortress in their sights, they ran as fast as they could through the sand.

_Vraska..._

_Vraska, where..._

"Where is everyone?" Vraska spoke up as they entered, their presence hardly even alerted to. No voices, or other footsteps, could be heard against the polished marble floor. Her and Jace were still incredibly tense, having expected a fight and finding absolutely nothing at all. All that there was were winding stairs leading up and deep below, and hallways that branched off and curled from where they stood. Every surface was covered in delicate, swirling metal filigree that almost made it unfortunate that they had come here to kill a man. Tezzeret's fortress was a strangely beautiful sight to behold- odd, considering who they were there for. Aesthetics like these didn't seem like something Tezzeret would invest his time into, if they weren't deadly.

"Maybe there's traps set further in, don't let down your guard." Jace said as he took one, slow step in, expecting a booby-trap to be triggered almost immediately.

"Don't worry, I won't." Vraska's voice took on a whole new tone, and he could feel her suspicious gaze bore into his back without even having to see it.

"Vraska-"

"Now isn't the time, Jace." She muttered as she picked a direction herself and led the way, taking step after fearless step down one of the winding hallways. Smaller corridors immediately branched off from the one they were walking down, almost mimicking the branches of a tree.

"Vraska, I'm sorry!" Jace continued, despite her command, speaking as strong as he could to keep from being cut off. "I know what I did was wrong, no matter how worried I was."

"And I'm sure you'll be just as sorry the next time you feel the need to invade my privacy- because you were _'worried'_." Vraska chuckled bitterly. "I have zero doubts that you'll always be very, very sorry, but you'll always find a way to justify yourself. You'll regret what happened, but in the end, you'll do it again- just like _her!_ "

"Just like _who_ , Vraska!?"

"Just like-" Vraska whirled around, a look of fury on her face that stopped Jace dead in his tracks. Her eyes glowed, but only as a display of threat- although, he swore he felt his heart stop. Her words shriveled up and died behind her clenched teeth, and her gaze wavered. They stared one another down, his eyes wide and her eyes narrowed and watery, not a word or a breath coming between them.

"... Were you just about to-?"

" _No!_ " Vraska shot back as she sharply turned on her heel away from him. "I was just... _remembering something_ , that's all. I have a long history of people doing horrible things to me because they felt they had to, and no amount of regret or sorrow over what happened will change what's already transpired. I love you, Jace, but... it's going to take a lot more than a 'sorry' to convince me that you're any different."

"It was one time-"

"It was enough."

She continued to proceed forward in silence, leaving Jace to stand rooted to where he stood in shock. His heart pounded against his chest, feeling like he had to regain his footing despite being solidly planted on the ground. He'd seen it, even if it had only lasted a half of a half of a second: a petrifying gaze, perhaps one that a certain former Azorius Guildmaster had seen. The only thing that had stopped her, probably, had been the heartfelt 'I love you" mixed in with all of her frustration and hurt. However, leaving him alive was obviously nowhere near being an acceptance of his apology.

_Vraska..._

_Vraska, I'm so..._

No matter how hard Jace thought, he kept on running into dead ends made up of nothing but apologies that Vraska would refute again and again. He didn't even have to hear her actually say so, her silence was practically deafening and spoke volumes. Even though the two of them continued their venture in complete silence, deeper and deeper into Tezzeret's fortress, the jumbled thoughts bouncing to and fro in Jace's head made up for the lack of any other noise.

"What kind of fool just leaves their hideout so empty? Was a small army of gargoyles all he could think of?" Vraska finally spoke, not to Jace in particular as much as she was just airing out her own, frustrated thoughts. "It doesn't feel right, not one bit."

Jace couldn't help but silently agree. He knew Tezzeret, and he _especially_ knew Tezzeret when he was left without a master to serve. The man always had a trick or a plan to back-up his back-up. He left no room for error, because potential errors were usually thoroughly destroyed. He had expected a puzzle, an army of golems and other henchmen waiting around every other corner, and some deadly trap behind the rest. He considered that they might have found the wrong secret fortress, but he dared not speak that possibility aloud. After all, there had been such an incredible defense outside, and he didn't want Vraska to have another reason to be upset with him.

"Why would I need to defend myself..." A voice chuckled, whatever that carried it through the long, dark hall giving it a metallic ring that sliced through the air. "...When I won the second you stepped through the front doors?"

"Tezzeret." Vraska snarled. "Come out and face us, then, if you're so sure of your victory!"

"As much as I hate to turn down an invitation from a queen, I'm afraid you're going to have to play by _my_ rules." Tezzeret's voice came again as dozens of pale, blue lights flickered to life along the walls of one of the many branching corridors, this one with stairs leading down into the dark depths of the fortress. " _You_ will come to _me_."

"Vraska, wait!" Jace gasped as he reached out and took her hand- only for her to yank it out of his reach. "This could very well be the trap we've been expecting, we need to-"

"Whatever Tezzeret has planned, I'm not going to sit here and cower over what it could possibly be." She spoke proudly through a sharp frown. "I'll rise to meet whatever it is he plans on throwing at me."

"And I'm sure he expects that- just..." Jace paused, swallowing down what was probably a long, worried lecture over just how dangerous and vile Tezzeret was. If no amount of saying "sorry" would sooth her, then no amount of warning would make her second-guess her own plans. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"So long as you promise to watch my back- that's why you decided to come along, isn't it?" She asked, gazing over her shoulder with a look that was finally a little softer than a furious scowl.

"I'll be here." He said with a nod. "I promise."

She merely returned his nod, and began her descent, with Jace following close behind.

Deeper and deeper they went, the air around them growing colder and colder, until the two of them could see their breaths. The humm of electricity could be heard, echoing from somewhere and traveling along the walls. The deeper they went, the more the chilling halls of the fortress seemed to come alive. Sparks danced along the swirling metal that decorated the walls, snapping and cracking in the cool air. All of it was strange, and all of it could possibly point to whatever Tezzeret was planning, but for the life of him, Jace couldn't quite come up with an answer.

The corridor they traveled down eventually opened up into a larger room, with mysterious machinery lining the walls that all twisted and curled, like a nest of snakes, complete with threatening hissing noises. All of it seemed to lead to the same exact point in the center of the room, where a pedestal had been built, and at the very top sat a large, round gem held in place by more, intricately swirling metal. It glowed silver in the light, with blue sparks discharging and leaping from its surface.

"That's..." Jace gasped, immediately recognizing the strange relic. He took a surprised step forward, but cautiously kept his distance. "... But didn't Liliana...?"

"The necromancer and I had a little chat- seems she had no plans for Bolas' remaining spoils, so I took back what I _rightfully_ deserved." Tezzeret stepped out of the shadows with slow, slinking steps, making his way over the the pedestal, but making no move to draw any closer to Jace and Vraska.

"Quite the surprise to have you here with us as well, Jace- and very nostalgic, as well, wouldn't you say?" He asked with a smirk. "Coming here, to punish me for the things I've done, a pretty little accomplice at your side- I'd say this is almost like poetry. A shame, though, that things aren't going to end up the same way."

"What is he-?" Vraska began to question before a sickening sound cut her off. She shuddered, her words turning to a surprised, pained grunt.

"Forgive me, I'd love to catch up and chat, but I have plans to receive even more company, and I can't have you all crowding up the place." Tezzeret laughed. Jace turned, a terrified shiver running up his spine, as he and Vraska looked down to see the blade of a sword rammed through her side. Blood already had begin to flow down her leg and pool around her feet.

"J... Jace..." She moaned, her words muddied by blood. Behind her, from beneath a wide-brimmed hat, Jace could see a familiar mask.

"You!" He uttered in shock, pointing an accusing finger shakily at The Wanderer, who appeared to not even have a scratch on her.

"No hard feelings, Jace Beleren- or, at least, none that are relevant right now." She spoke cooly as she swiftly retracted her blade, causing Vraska to gasp in agony. "Just doing a job for the highest bidder."

She shoved Vraska roughly, who stumbled forward only a few steps before losing balance. Jace ran to catch her, but before he could even draw near, a portal opened up, filling the chamber with warm, contrasting light, and scenery that was outside of anything that could be found on Esper at all. Vraska's limp body passed through it, disappearing inside the portal a second before it, too, vanished, leaving Jace to fall into a crumbled heap on the ground where it had once been. His hands met cold, unfeeling marble, the only thing left of Vraska being the blood trail she left behind.

" _Ooh_ , just missed her." He heard Tezzert mockingly comment, the planar bridge inside his chest glowing from its use. "A shame, you always seem to lose girls like her, don't you, Jace?"

"You bastard!" Jace snarled as he rose to his feet, readying something- anything- to peel back and assault the artificer's unprotected mind. However, as he did, he came face to face with the man, who stood so close he could feel the heat rising from the planar bride in his chest. He laughed through his mocking grin that stretched from ear to ear.

"Go ahead, Jace, do your worst. Tear apart my brain, and leave me nothing but a drooling, broken mess. Go on, its not like I can stop you." He taunted, practically nose to nose with him.

Jace narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but attempted to do just that... but nothing came of his efforts. He tried again, forcing himself to keep from showing how shocked he was. Again, nothing, as Tezzeret's grin grew more and more sickeningly mocking. It became increasingly more and more distressingly strange, that something that came so naturally suddenly had become impossible to even gather the energy for. It wasn't that Tezzeret had, in fact, protected himself, but instead more like that Jace couldn't use his own powers to begin with- like he never even had them at all.

"Hmm? Nothing? Not even going to try a harmless little mind read?" Tezzeret asked, feigning innocence. "And here I thought I trained you do at least do something as simple as that, back in the day."

Jace began to strain himself, so much that it was starting to give him a headache.

"I must thank you, really and truly, Jace, you've provided a very valuable service. Now, I'm positive that what I've built here works just as it was meant to." Tezzeret smirked.

"What exactly did you build?" Jace asked, confusion and anger giving rise to horror- horror over his sudden lack of any magic, and horror over what had happened to Vraska. He had no idea where either of the two had gone, and it filled him with a legitimate sense of fear.

"A tomb." Tezzeret said simply.

Jace gasped suddenly as a myriad of different sensations washed over him, one after the other, in the span of his single, surprised breath. At first, it was warm, and wet, almost uncomfortably so, but then came the pain. An agony so strong that he could feel every last inch of his body quiver in revulsion radiated from his side. He looked down, spying Tezzeret's blood-soaked blade before he acknowledged his own wound, dying his azure clothes a horrific crimson.

_Vraska..._

A swift kick to the gut sent Jace easily flying back, the pain of falling to the ground being no match for the pain from his bleeding injury. He could hear Tezzeret's cruel laugh just barely over the thunderous noise of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He could already feel it slowing, and hear it growing weaker and weaker as he struggled to lift even an arm to try and drag himself away. The shadow of his foe loomed over him, bathing his path in shadow like a moon eclipsing the sun.

"It's a shame that I didn't get to see how Bolas met his end, but at the very least, I get to satisfy myself with watching you suffer." He heard him say, the glint of his blade casting a light that flickered along the floor and walls. "Consider this payback for what you wound up putting _me_ through."

_Vraska..._

Even when consumed by agony, Vraska was still at the forefront of Jace's mind, and he desperately clung to her, even as everything around him felt as if it were slipping through his fingers like sand. He gritted his teeth as he felt his eyes burn. She'd felt betrayed, hurt- all by him- and now, wherever she had been sent, could she feel anything at all? Was she going to perish with nothing but his useless sorrys to take with her to the afterlife to remember him by? Was he going to lose her, after having finally found her? Was this it: just blood, pain and regret upon regret?

Something inside of Jace's brain clicked, set off by his desperation. Even as his vitality leaked free from him, he was barely able to grasp at the Blind Eternities, and feel their fearsome embrace. It was a small, brief window of opportunity that was closing as he found it- and he took it, pulling off a miracle, even if it meant hurling himself blindly into the unknown with his life draining from him.

Life draining... regret... pain... He didn't want to involve anyone else, becoming Tezzeret's unwilling dog herding an innocent flock to the slaughter. He'd already done so once, playing into Bolas' hands, he wouldn't do it again... but, there was one person in the multiverse, his last, awful resort, as much as it irked him. There was one person in the multiverse who he could possibly turn to for help, someone who had nothing left to lose, and he had a good idea of where she might be hiding- even though it filled him with only foreboding feelings.

_Vraska..._

_I'm sorry..._

**Vraska**

A gasp. A paralyzing spike of agony. The taste of filthy water and blood. A merciless flood of sensations berated Vraska, drowning her as effectively as the shallow puddle she lay weakly, face-down in. Coughing and struggling to draw even one, decent breath, all she could manage to do was roll over onto her side, to keep from dying any quicker than she knew she was. She accepted it as she accepted the heavily bleeding wound that dragged her closer and closer to the end with every desperate beat of her heart: with defeat, and with no other options left.

She had no idea where in the world she had been sent, the thick trees towering all around her that choked out the sunlight could belong to any plane. So weak and in so much pain was she that the concept of planeswalking hurt her. Thinking of where she had possibly gone wrong and the staggering amount of oversight hurt her. The fact that Jace was long gone, and she could do nothing to help him hurt her. The fact that she'd pushed him away, so hard and so far... that one stung her more than her wounds.

"Jace..." Her words came out haggard, half smothered by water and vile-tasting blood that filled her throat and lungs. All she could think to say was his name. Would it be the last thing that ever passed through her lips?

Would she, Vraska, Queen of the Golgari Swarm, wind up as nothing more than a blood-soaked corpse, further contaminating the few inches of muddy water where she lay?

What could have possibly been a sob was overpowered by a horrifically loud rumble coming from somewhere in the thick, thick woods. The sounds of birds frantically flying away filled the air, confirming that what she was hearing wasn't just something her fading mind was making up. A ripple swept through the puddle, and then another, sending the water splashing up in Vraska's face. She tried to move, and drag herself away, but her limbs refused to obey even the simplest command, with only her fingers digging in deeper into the mud.

A sound, unlike anything Vraska had ever heard, practically sliced through the air as the trees around her shook, their vibrant green leaves raining down onto the forest floor- or so they seemed at first. By the time they joined her, settling into the dirty water, they were brown and dry. It was a mystery that she had no time to parse as a terrifying creature, the likes of which she had never seen, came thundering out from the trees, taking several down in its wake, which seemed to rot and turn to nothing but dry, sickly ash before they even hit the ground.

The beast was more tentacle than body, its long, flailing, crimson appendages chaotically taking out more trees. Its arms were tiny in comparison, weak and bony, looking like sickly growths that just so happened to resemble arms with hands attached. It had something that vaguely looked like a face- at least it was where a face would normally be- but, it had no eyes, nose or even a mouth. And, yet, it made some of the most bone-chilling gurgles and wails Vraska had ever heard. Whatever this creature was, it was beyond her fading comprehension.

The monster clumsily trudged through the trees, amazingly not paying Vraska any mind at all, before toppling over, head over tentacles, kicking up dirt and even more trees in its wake, as well as the strange, bone-white ash that became of everything it intentionally touched. Yet another thing for Vraska to choke on. The more she watched, the more the creature seemed to be presenting something akin to fear, and that it was clearly running away from something. If a being like _that_ could be afraid of something, she could only imagine what it could be afraid of- even though, she didn't really want to.

She didn't ask, but her morbid curiosity was satisfied as something that dwarfed the creature in both size and mass stomped into view and drenched the ground where Vraska lay in shadow. She squinted, just barely able to make out what it was, passed the dust and debris: a hulking, powerful elemental, with threads of pulsating, green mana weaving inside of it's earthy form like veins. With one of it's feet made from thick, hearty roots, the elemental stomped down on the sickening creature, that writhed and shrieked in what could be described as pain. It reached up and desperately grasped at the air, unable to even grab the elemental that continued to viciously attack it. Disgusting ichor that she assumed was blood soaked the ground, as well as the elemental's massive, twisted trunk of a leg.

Gently fluttering cloth was what finally pulled Vraska away from the horrific scene, as she noticed a cloak in the corner of her vision, flapping about in the breeze. Someone was standing over her, but she could hardly even make out a sharp-enough silhouette, with how her vision blurred and darkened around the corners. Breathing was exhausting now, each struggling inhale taking with it more than it put in, as she rested her tired, aching head back down into the water. With one eye looking up from the mud, she managed to see someone reaching down to her, before her sight completely abandoned her.

"J...ace..."

**Teyo Verada**

Planeswalking still left Teyo feeling considerably disoriented, but one thing was absolutely clear when his feet finally touched down on solid ground: someone was missing.

"Rat!" He exclaimed, his voice echoing in the silence that had settled around him. Both Jaya and Kaya instinctively shushed him, but he continued, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper as he looked frantically around them. "Rat's gone!"

"Nonsense, she's right..." Kaya began to say, before she, too, joined him in looking up and down the long, dark hallway they now found themselves. Aside from Jaya, who would be of no help in looking for their friend, and the walls lined with intricate, swirling silver details, there was nothing at all to see- no other person standing close by, no Rat. "... She _was_ right here. She led us here!"

"Perhaps your invisible friend turned coward and deserted us." Jaya pessimistically said with folded arms. "First that despicable Vess woman, and now Miss Rat."

"No! Rat isn't like that, she wouldn't leave us without saying anything!" Teyo defended his absent friend, furrowing his brow as a feeling of legitimate anger welled up inside of him. "She stuck by my side during the entirety of Nicol Bolas' assault, she isn't so easily scared that she'd leave us- we're her friends!"

"No need to raise your voice at me, boy, I was only making a guess." Jaya grumbled. "But, no matter the reason, she isn't here- is she?"

"... Maybe she went to go find more help, now that Liliana isn't an option worth pursuing." Kaya threw out to try and quell the argument.

"Help that can hear and see her, I hope." Jaya added, still sounding incredibly skeptical.

"There's still a chance we can go after her, her trail is still pretty fresh." Kaya suggested.

"And every second we spend chasing her across the Blind Eternities is a second we could be using to stop Tezzeret before he springs whatever trap he's building in here." Jaya retorted harshly. "Wherever your friend has gone off to, she's on her own, regardless of whether or not she's finding more allies, or just running away."

"Well, then why don't just one of us-?"

"And thin our numbers out even more? We're hardly an army by ourselves, what do you expect to do with even _less?_ " Jaya asked, her sharp frown deepening the wrinkles on her face. "Give it up, all we can do at this point is hope that she'll return- we have more than enough issues on our hands as it is, not to mention the fact that, if we succeed, that still leaves Liliana Vess unaccounted for."

"I know, I know! One thing at a time, alright, I get it." Kaya sighed before turning around and resting her hand on Teyo's shoulder, who had grown silent.

"I'm sure she didn't run away, we both know that Rat isn't-"

Teyo jumped at her touch, having truly been absent for most of her and Jaya's conversation. Instead, he'd been peering down the dark hallway, unable to keep himself from sensing something deeply unsettling. It filled him with dread, as well as an unshakable chill that left him standing as stiff as a board- that is, until Kaya touched his shoulder, sending him leaping into the air, as if he were suddenly standing on coals.

"Hey, calm down, it's just me!" Kaya gasped in surprise, shrinking away along with Teyo, who pressed his hand close to his heart that hammered against his chest. "... Are you alright, you're as pale as a ghost."

"I-I'm sorry... something just doesn't seem right- like at all." Teyo gulped, unable to settle his nerves that were all screamingly alert. They were merely standing in a hallway, hardly anything all that frightening going on, unless one was afraid of the dark. There were no foreboding sounds or signs of anything dangerous- but even so, he felt incredibly threatened, and fear gripped him like a hand making a tight fist. "Can't you feel it!?"

Kaya looked to Jaya, who curiously raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"Maybe it's just stress." Kaya suggested.

"Oh, no! No way, I've _felt_ stress. If it's one thing I've grown very, very familiar with in the last few days, it's stress." Teyo refused. "It's this place... it's _cruel_. It feels like it's taking something away from me- I can't exactly describe it, and I can't stop it!"

"Hmm..." Kaya squinted into the darkness before turning to Jaya. "Maybe it's something we can't see- could you give us a little light to work with?"

"I was starting to think you would never ask- I was ready to just let you fumble around in the dark." Jaya chuckled, followed by a long, pregnant silence as they all waited for the warmth of her flame to fill the darkness. But, the silence lasted much longer than was comfortable, and the oppressive shade continued to linger. "What in the Nine Hells...?"

"What? What's wrong?" Teyo ask, a worried quiver loud and clear in his few words.

"I can't... not even a spark..." Jaya muttered, sounding strained. "Dammit, this can't be happening!"

"What, having a little performance anxiety?" Kaya managed to joke, despite the circumstances.

"Shut up, don't reduce my magic to nothing but a silly performance- it's my very soul, and I know it better than I know myself!" Jaya snapped in frustration. "A simple flame should be child's play, as easy as taking a breath. But... now, it's like it's-"

"Gone..." Teyo finished for her, looking down at his own hands, finally able to identify the sinking feeling that had overcome him. He felt terrified and vulnerable, because he no longer had anything to defend himself with. Every last inch of sacred geometry that had been hammered into his brain had absolutely deserted him. He couldn't even grasp at the most simplest of lore. He felt like an empty shell. He felt like no one. "Our magic is... _gone_."

"That can't be! It doesn't just up and leave, it's not something we can just forget- it's apart of us!" Kaya argued.

"Not anymore, it's seems- unless, you want to test it out for yourself and help us complete the rotation of us just going around in circles." Jaya said, holding back none of her ire. "Me not being able to do something as simple as summon a single light should be evidence enough for you."

"It's this place." Teyo agreed with a worried nod. "It's silencing our magic- putting out that flame."

"It's not just a single trap that Tezzeret is setting here, then..." Kaya murmured, clearly having a bit of trouble swallowing such a bitter pill. "It's this entire fortress. It's stifling us."

"What should we do? Clearly Rat was able to leave, so maybe we should go back to Gobakhan and rethink our strategy, or-" Teyo began to suggest.

"And leave this place to lure in more unsuspecting fools? Some might not be fortunate enough to realize what's going on before it's too late. We have vital knowledge about this place, we shouldn't take that for granted." Jaya turned in down instantly. "What we need to do is find whatever is the source of this curse, and destroy it- then we can talk about an escape plan."

"What if that 'thing' is Tezzeret?" Kaya brought up. "He has the ability to open that planar bridge of his, after all, who knows what else he's capable of."

"Whatever or whoever it is changes nothing." Jaya said coldly as she pressed a fist against her open palm. "If it's Tezzeret, we'll clobber him."

"Or _I'll_ clobber him, since all we have at our disposal is a shieldmage who can't make shields, and, well, you're... you know..." Kaya sighed, her hands on her hips.

"You don't need to beat around the bush, girl, my age isn't a big, damn secret." Jaya huffed with a roll of her eyes. "Do you think you can handle it?"

"I..." Kaya's voice was full of uncertainty as she looked down the dark corridor. "Let's just hope we only wind up having to disassemble an invention of his, and not the actual man himself. You're not the only ones who aren't playing with a full deck anymore."

"We'll do whatever we can to help." Teyo added, although he couldn't hide how unsure he sounded, as sincere as he wanted to come across. He knew he was incredibly lacking in every department that didn't involve creating sheilds, but the thought of just standing asside and accepting that he was nothing more than dead weight didn't sit right with him at all.

"Thanks..." Kaya said, both her words and her smile seeming equally as unsure. "... I think."

* * *

Teyo brought up the rear of the group as the three of them ventured down the winding, twisting corridor, fingers tracing along the wall, and feeling the swirling, metallic designs that crept up all the way to the ceiling. Jaya made up the center, and Kaya had taken her place at the front, leading them deeper and deeper into the fortress. The deeper they went, the more it felt as if Teyo's very soul was being constricted. It felt as if he were suffocating, even though he could breath perfectly well. He wondered how Kaya or Jaya felt, and if they weren't feeling the same awful pressure. If they did, they didn't say so- no one had said a single word since they began their trek through the maze of hallways.

However, the further they went, the more and more something became harder to ignore: a stench that had been easy to shrug off at first, but only grew to be unavoidably intense with each passing moment. Pretending to ignore it was quickly becoming impossible, especially for Teyo, who covered his nose and, finally, let out a weak, nauseated cough. The noise triggered a domino effect, as Jaya groaned in disgust and Kaya cursed under her breath. At least, there was comfort in knowing all three of them were suffering through the wretched stench together.

"By the storm..." Teyo moaned, his words coming out nasally as he tightly pinched his nose. Even without being able to smell it, his eyes still watered and stung. "What in the world is that _smell!?_ "

"You think we would know?" Jaya grunted, dawing her hood even closer to her face to try and mask the smell. "It smells like something is rotting in here- suppose Tezzeret doesn't clean very often...?"

"It smells worse than rot!" Kaya complained. "Any more and I'm going to wretch!"

"Don't you dare!" Jaya snapped. "Not unless you want to start a disgusting chain reaction!"

"Where is it coming from!?" Teyo dared to ask, even though he knew the only answer either of them could give, and both he and his stomach didn't like it.

"There's really only one way to find out." Kaya said, looking over her shoulder with a look overcome with hesitation, the words lingering on her lips. "We keep on moving forward and either find it, or we pass through and thank the gods we never figure out what it was."

"Ugh..." Teyo moaned, taking a swaying step away from the wall in his nausea. For a moment, with his eyes squeezed tight, he was totally lost, with only the sound of Jaya and Kaya's footsteps to guide him. But, as he leaned back towards the wall, something in his path caught him off guard, tripping him up and leaving him with nowhere to go but down. With a rough tumble and a sharp cry, Teyo landed on the ground, his eyes snapping open as the unbearable stench suddenly grew worse.

It was hard to tell exactly what it was, in the darkness, but he was more than able to make out a single, wide eye staring right back at him, unblinking, and motionless.

" _Shit!_ " Teyo cried out, his voice shrill and frightened, as he scrambled to his feet in a desperate move to get as far away from what he had seen- _whatever_ it was! In his mad scramble, however, he found neither wall nor floor, leaving him hanging in the open air for several terrifying seconds.

"Teyo!" He heard Kaya and Jaya shout before his body landed, roughly and painfully, on what he immediately was able to identify as stairs. He tumbled down them, into even more darkness, for a short moment, before he caught himself and skid to a halt. His arm hurt terribly from how he'd landed on it, stinging to the touch, but luckily it seemed that it was the extent of his injuries.

"Teyo, are you alright!?" He heard Kaya call, shortly before she gasped in surprise, followed by the shocked stutter-step of her feet tripping down the steps- not as ungracefully as him, however. She was able to join him at his side without falling flat on her behind.

"Yeah, I'm fine... I just tripped on something..." Teyo panted, struggling to get back onto his feet with a pained grunt. "I... I have absolutely no idea what it was, though. All I saw was an eye... I-I think."

"Well, regardless of what you saw, looks like you found us another route to go down." Jaya mentioned, and she probably would have sounded impressed to, if it wasn't under a thick layer of disgust. The horrible, unbearable stench still hung in the air.

"Must we? The smell's already gotten worse." Kaya said uneasily.

"Either way, we're blindly fumbling around in the dark here- maybe our only option is to follow this disgusting scent, at least then we'll be following something." Jaya groaned. "As much as I hate to admit it..."

Both Teyo and Kaya groaned in disgust at the concept, but otherwise agreed. Teyo made especially sure to pinch his nose extra hard as they continued, now descending down the steps slowly and carefully. All the while, the stench grew and grew, until not even covering one's nose would do the trick. It was so sickening it left Teyo feeling dizzy, combined with the fact he was keeping his breaths as shallow as possible. If things continued as they were, there was a very strong chance he would pass out, and take out the other two women in front of him.

Luckily, hope appeared as a light at the end of the winding tunnel, giving them a glimpse into what could possibly be the end of their unbearably rotten-smelling trial. Light bounced off the walls, causing the swirling metal bits on the wall to glitter and gleam, further lighting their way.

"Hold on!" Kaya called out in a hushed tone, coming to a complete stop and holding her arm out behind her. Both Jaya and Teyo came to a shuffling halt as well, with Teyo straining himself to look over both of his party-member's shoulders. There was something small and oddly shaped lying at the bottom of the stairs, right at the exit where the light was streaming in from. It was so abnormally round and small that it took Teyo a good while to realize that it was a body resting statue-still on the steps.

"I... I think it's a person!" He exclaimed just as Kaya picked up her pace, taking the steps two at a time to rush to the stranger's side. However, as she made it to the bottom before the others, and crouched down to check, she immediately recoiled, throwing her hands up in surprise and slight disgust, up at her shoulders. Her gasp could be heard all the way to where Teyo and Jaya still were, descending at a considerably slower speed.

" _Gods_..." She muttered under her breath, studying the body first with her eyes before reaching out with her foot and rolling it over with a gentle nudge from the tip of her boot. "I... I think it's a homunculus... or, at least, it _was_ a homunculus."

"'Was' is right..." Jaya agreed in disgust as her and Teyo finally got close enough to see the state the tiny, blue creature was in. It's face was stuck in a permanent scream, as if it had been calling out for help right up until the end- right up until someone sliced it nearly clean in two, leaving its blood and entrails to slough out of its midsection like meat gone bad. "Who could have done this?"

"I-I don't know... but..." Teyo practically gagged out is words as he pointed forward with a quivering hand. "... I think we've found the source of the smell."

Kaya and Jaya looked up from the body, and to what Teyo couldn't tear his eyes away from, no matter how hard he tried. Before them was a small chamber, lit up by lamps that flickered a hazy blue. Along the walls were a few mechanisms that buzzed and hummed, the machinery branching off into smaller and smaller parts until they merged with the swirling silver patterns along the walls. But, those were only small, unnoticeable details in comparison to the carnage that littered the floor.

Dozens of similar, round bodies lay about the floor, staining the ground in their blood so thoroughly that the swirling marble below could hardly even be seen. Every single homunculi seemed to be mutilated in a different, graphic way, as if whoever slaughtered the entire lot of them had done so one by one, with care to make each kill unique. Among the throng of the dead, Teyo could see similar, bulging eyes to the one he'd seen at the top of the stairs- perhaps the body of a homunculus who had succumbed to their wounds after escaping up the steps.

"I'm... I'm going to be sick..." He weakly moaned as he stumbled back up the stairs, each step nearly sending him tumbling backward.

"... _Hells_..." Jaya gasped, gawking at the terrible scene with her mouth hanging open.

"Did... Did Tezzeret do all this, you think?" Kaya asked through both her hands thrown over her mouth.

"My guess? He probably had these creatures building this place while he was away." Jaya said, amazingly taking it all in with a little more poise than either Kaya or Teyo, but still very, outwardly disgusted and horrified. "Once everything was finished, and he no longer had a need for any of them, he more than likely decided it was best to have all of them disposed of."

"That's despicable..." Kaya spat.

"That's how people choose to deal with humunculi, unfortunately. They're created to be servants and slaves, and their lives are in the hands of their masters." Jaya said with a shake of her head. "It's just unfortunate that these creatures wound up serving a bastard like Tezzeret."

" _Krokt!_ " A noticeably native-Ravnican curse suddenly rang out through the chamber, drawing the attention of all three of them from the piles of bodies to a separate entrance at the other end of the room. Peaking in, with his hands over his mouth and nose, was Ral Zarek, too distracted by the bodies to notice the other group was there, gawking at him in surprise.

"Ral!" Kaya exclaimed, gaining his attention as he jumped and looked up, good and proper spooked.

"Kaya! What are _you_ doing here!?" He asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." She couldn't help but chuckle. "But honestly... it's more than a blessing to see a familiar face right now."

"Ral, who are you talking to?" A second voice, just behind Ral, could be heard before another familiar face pushed her way through the doorway. "What is- _holy shit!_ "

It was Chandra Nalaar, one of the members of the Gatewatch, looking like she was about to turn tail and flee at the sight of the slaughter. Teyo had no idea what she was doing there, but there was a good chance she wasn't particularly supposed to be, judging by the guilty look that overcame her look of horrified disgust as she looked up to see that her and Ral had company.

" _Chandra!_ " Jaya shouted, her tone equal parts shocked and furious.

"Oh... hey, Jaya... fancy meeting you here..."

**Rat**

For a woman who had an army of zombies at her beck and call, Miss Liliana certainly knew what to do when it came to handling a serious wound. Without even a moment's hessitation, she had sent her horde, who had at one time viciously attacked her companions, to find a variety of herbs which they picked with incredible care. Meanwhile, with nothing but the clothes on her back, she used what little she had at her disposal and ripped off a portion of her long, flowing skirt to dress Mister Jace Beleren's horrible gash in his side. She used enough of her own clothing to reveal her entire calves, before she got the bleeding under control, and it left Rat wondering if she should start offering her clothes too- not that she had anything that could be torn that wouldn't just flat-out leave her standing around naked.

Under any other circumstances that wouldn't be a huge problem, sure, but Miss Liliana could see her, so stripping was out of the question.

"You're really good at that." She finally spoke up as Miss Liliana pressed the herbs she had ground into a mush against the blood-soaked skirt-bandages. "Is nursing something you do on the side when you're not raising armies of dead guys?"

"It's just leftover knowledge from my youth, nothing special- also why are you still here!?" Miss Liliana snapped, looking up from her intense work to scowl at Rat. Not that it was threatening enough a look to scare her away, and she merely narrowed her eyes back, trying and not quite succeeding at looking as intense.

"I'm not leaving until you agree to come with me!" She said, refusing to budge as she folded her arms stubbornly.

"Well, then, better get used to this old, depressing dump, because I'm not going _anywhere_." Miss Liliana wrinkled her nose in clear annoyance before going back to treating Mister Beleren, who's head was propped up on a pile of lumber waiting to be made useful. The three of them had moved to the lower levels of the shell of the house, maybe for protection, maybe for privacy- possibly both.

Rat turned up her head and gave a quick humph in protest, heaving a breath through her nose. She kept that pose- arms crossed, head raised, lip jutted out in a frustrated pout- for an incredible amount of time, until her neck hurt from the strain, and her curiosity, that had been nagging in the back of her mind since Mister Beleren arrived, finally got the best of her.

"So..." She said, drawing out the word long and slow enough that it clearly got on Miss Liliana's nerves. "... Do you know Mister Jace Beleren very well?"

"Why do you ask?" Miss Liliana asked through a bothered groan.

"It took you less than a second from when he literally landed here to decide to help him out- even though, last I checked, you two were sort of fighting for opposite sides back on Ravnica." Rat shrugged, drawing circles in the dirty ground with her finger. "I don't know how you operate, but that sort of kindness isn't exactly reserved for total strangers where I come from."

"... _'Know'_ is a complicated word." Miss Liliana finally spoke, an air of hesitation weighing heavily on each word. "I was a former member of his little hero club for a bit- the Gatewatch- although they were all just a means to an end, just like everyone else."

"Do you mean that, or are you just saying that to make yourself sound unlikable?" Rat pried.

"I don't think you're in a position to be-"

"I know my way around an armature performance, though, if I were a director I would have laughed you right off the stage." Rat continued. "If you really want to come across like a person who doesn't care about others, you're going to have to sell it. You can't fool me if your heart's not in it." She paused, giving Liliana a sly smile. "It also doesn't help that you're doting on one of those 'means to an end' right now."

"Excuse me for not wanting someone to die on my doorstep."

"Funny, you would think a necromancer would be totally open to having a fresh corpse conveniently show up in their home." Rat continued to push, not giving her even an inch. There was something there, below her frown and her attitude- and, Rat could very well see that they were nothing but tools to push people away. "Admit it, underneath all those layers of 'cold, aloof necromancer who needs no friends' is the person who will come with me to stop that no-good bastard, Tezzeret."

"Are you this annoying with most people you meet?" Miss Liliana grumbled.

"Most people can't see me." Rat replied, a little too proudly.

"I envy most people, then..." Miss Liliana sighed as she ran a hand through her long, raven-black hair. "It's not as simple as you're making it out to be- sometimes an apple that's rotten on the outside is also just as rotten on the inside. I don't want to be this way, but- how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Miss Liliana scoffed.

"Well that explains the naivete. Come back when you've lived for hundreds of years, after you've lied and used people to get by long enough that it comes as easy to you as breathing. This isn't just a mask I'm wearing that I can take off at any time- it's a second skin, it's apart of me, whether I- or you- like it, or not." She sighed, turning her attention back to Mister Beleren.

"Well I think, sixteen years or hundreds, it's never too late to try and start doing the right thing." Rat solidly kept her stance, refusing to let Miss Liliana's words budge her. "I mean, look at you, you're doing it right now."

"I told you already, it's because I-"

" _Vraska!_ "

Both Miss Liliana and Rat fell backward in surprise as Mister Beleren, who had been out cold only seconds before, snapped awake and threw himself into a sitting position- a move he clearly, immediately regretted as he doubled over in pain, lying right back down, this time in a more fetal position. He grasped at his side, hissing and cursing, before realizing he was bandaged up and slathered with healing herbs. Unfortunately, his look of surprise shifted from pleasant to terrified as he rolled over and came face to face with Miss Liliana, who looked just about ready to fight a man who was a bad twist of the hips away from bleeding out again.

Both of them looked back at each other, not saying a word, bristling under the others stare. Rat shuffled where she sat, feeling uncomfortable just watching them.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He finally spoke up, more than just a little suspicious.

"Quite a bold thing to ask from the man who came here, to my home, and bled all over my floor." Miss Liliana snapped back.

"Sorry..." He deflated rather quickly under her gaze, but still shrugged away from her, as if he expected her to attack him next.

"You're welcome, by the way, I could have just had my zombies tear you limb from limb for trespassing, but instead I decided to give you the old House Vess hospitality." She continued. It was almost immediately apparent to Rat that the two of them were more familiar than just having been apart of the same group. There was a small bit of history in every word, and every mistrusting, lingering gaze. They looked like they were both ready to fight and flee, but instead stood tense and unsure. "You owe me a new skirt."

"And you owe me a new friend." Mister Beleren said back, surprisingly with an incredible amount of venom. Rat couldn't say she saw much of him while he had been the Living Guildpact, but the few times she had caught a glimpse, he never seemed to be more than low-key exhausted.

"Shut up, do you think I asked beefslab to throw his life away?" She bit back with just as much poison. "It wasn't my idea, I was _ready_ to die!"

"A shame you didn't get the chance."

"You had your own shot to kill me, and you didn't go through with it, either, so don't suddenly act like you're angry that I'm still alive." Miss Liliana's face contorted in her rage, growing more sharp and intense as she spoke. "Don't act like you're not just as responsible for beefslab wasting his precious life on miserable old me as I am. You had a chance and you hesitated!"

"Don't you have enough common decency to use his actual name?" Mister Beleren snarled. "Gideon died, all so you could turn around and run away!"

"I killed Bolas, if you don't recall, so you're welcome- _again!_ "

"NO, YOU DIDN'T-" He began to shout, before immediately throwing a hand over his mouth and looking away, his anger now focused more inward than back at Miss Liliana.

"What!?"

"Nothing, forget I said anything!" He quickly said. "That's not the issue here!"

"Then what is the issue here, Jace? You came here, inches away from death- you sought me out! So what exactly is the problem, if you think you can just show up whenever you need help, like we're still a couple of old friends!?" She asked in frustration. "You're keeping me in the dark, and you still feel like you have a right to be mad?"

"I have a right to be mad about a lot of things- I've considered making a list." He grumbled.

"Why are you here?" Liliana pressed. "If it's to kill me, to try and avenge beefslab-"

" _Gideon!_ " Mister Beleren sharply corrected her. Miss Liliana frowned, words of her own at the ready before she took a quick, deep breath, her brow furrowing intensely.

"If you're here as an assassin, you're doing a pretty horrible job."

"I'm not- not me, anyway, but I doubt you wouldn't be surprised to know there is a bounty on your head." He groaned. "... I personally don't even know why I came here- I kind of made the decision while I was a little busy dying. Maybe it was because you were my last resort... my last hope."

"Personally, I'm just surprised I'm in the chain of people who you look to for help at all." Miss Liliana said suspiciously.

"Me, too..." He said, as another silence fell over them- another silence full of words left totally unspoken.

"... What happened to you?" Miss Liliana spoke up. "I saved your life, you owe me an explanation, if you're not here to try and finish what you started back on Ravnica."

"... It as Tezzeret." Mister Beleren muttered.

" _Tezzeret!?_ " Rat sprang up, unable to keep herself silent anymore. She'd personally been so glued to their conversation, she had completely forgotten her sense of urgency and reason for sticking around on Dominaria. However, a single mention of the man's name took her right out of the drama that deliciously stewed between the two of them, as she forced her way into the conversation. "He escaped from Tezzeret!? Ask him how he did it! Ask him what he saw!"

"What was that!?" He gasped as he looked around in surprise, his gaze passing over Rat several times, even though her had clearly heard her... _hadn't he?_

"A very small, very annoying gnat." Miss Liliana huffed, but Rat refused to be ignored as she forced her way between them.

"Can you hear me!?" She gasped, moving in close.

"I-I can hear you- Liliana, what is going on!?" He asked, clearly growing more and more confused.

"I'm sure it's just the wind-"

"No, it's not, it's Rat- not a rat, _or a gnat!_ Rat's my name, let's get that straight!" Rat continued. "I'm a planeswalker like you, and my friends and I are trying to stop Tezzeret from springing a trap on everyone else- he's planning on luring everyone in, including-" She suddenly paused, taking a few steps back as she thought back on what Mr. Jace had said right before he passed out, and right when he woke up.

"... You were with Queen Vraska... weren't you?"

"I..." He paused, clearly grappling with the fact that he was about to have a conversation with someone who he couldn't see, and that it could possibly be all in his head- which, Rat was more than happy to contest, if she needed to. "... I couldn't stop him... I couldn't even save her."

"What did he do!? What happened in there!?" Rat continued to press for answers, even though he was clearly broken up about what had happened. A frightened feeling of her own began to brew in her stomach, filling up with her worries over her friends, Tezzeret's plans and what could have happened to Queen Vraska. Mister Beleren's look of utter defeat certainly wasn't helping. "Please, you have to tell me!"

"That place is a death trap- I don't know exactly how he managed it, but his fortress silences all magic, and it left Vraska and I completely exposed." He explained, seeming almost close to tears with how he sounded. "Tezzeret used the planar bridge to send Vraska- I don't even know where, I didn't get a good enough look... I couldn't save her."

"Sounds like he's already begun picking off assassins." Miss Liliana commented.

"Shut up!" Much to her surprise, he whirled around to look up at her, shouting loud and strong enough, with an expression so full of frustration and rage, that it caught her totally of guard. She held her hands up at chest level, ready to protect herself from an attack that never came. "He's using Bolas' spirit gem to do it- and he said he got it from you!"

" _Stole it_ from me is more like it, I had nothing to do with this!" She responded defensively. "Personally, I was planning on stealing it back when I got the chance, so don't go pointing fingers at me!"

"That's it!" Rat cut in, jabbing a finger in Miss Liliana's direction, who clearly didn't approve of the gesture. "If you won't go out of your way to help my friends, then maybe you'll be more open to serving your own, selfish butt!"

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Miss Liliana snarled slightly.

"You want that gem thingy that Tezzeret took from you, I want to save everyone before he hurts more people- we can kill two birds with one stone and everyone will be happy!" Rat said, trying her best to sound convincing. "... Well, everyone except Queen Vraska, I... I'm sorry." Mister Beleren more than clearly reacted, but said nothing in response. Personally, she felt incredibly awful for even bringing it up in the first place.

"You get what you want, and we get what we want- and I'll put in a good word for you, and you'll never be bothered by us again!" She turned to Miss Liliana with pleading eyes. She stared her down, glaring daggers back at her, which Rat only returned by staring even harder.

"... Fine." Much to her delight and relief, Miss Liliana relented, albeit she didn't look at that happy that she had. She tried not to mind so much- she didn't need her to enjoy helping her, she just needed her help. "But, once I get what I need, I'm not sticking around. The rest is up to you and your annoying friends."

"Deal." Rat said, crossing her arms and attempting to look just as serious.

"Then, I'm going, too." Mister Beleren added, staggering up to his feet with the most pained expression Rat had ever seen.

"Oh, no, you absolutely will not!" Miss Liliana turned him down outright, taking her hard stance with a stern expression.

"I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt as much as it did before." He dismissively said, hand-waving her comment away.

"That would be the painkillers doing their job. If you so much as trip in there, you're going to go right back to bleeding and dying- and next time, I won't be as charitable." She frowned.

"I'll be careful, but I'm not sitting this one out. Tezzeret has done enough, I'm not going to sit around and hope that he gets taken care of." He continued, lightly grasping at his side as he flinched. "I'm not exactly on the fast-track to trusting you."

"Fine, then, your funeral." Miss Liliana grumbled. "Hopefully it will be someone elses problem to deal with when you wind up needing your life saved."

The two of them shared a waveringly-bitter look, as if they were expecting the other to relent, somehow, but when no other response came, Mister Beleren turned away with an annoyed scowl and planeswalked away, leaving Miss Liliana and Rat to follow after him.

"You know..." Rat mentioned before the both of them departed. "... Gideon Jura would be proud of you- even if it's for selfish reasons, you're doing the right thing."

"Oh, shove it already." Liliana groaned before the both of them followed after Mister Beleren, heading in the direction of Esper.


	9. Chapter 9

**Growing Crescendo**

**Chandra Nalaar**

Chandra was just about done with surprises. It was only a short while ago that Dovin Baan offering them information about Tezzeret, in exchange for having his life spared, had been the biggest shock of the evening, but now it hardly made her bat an eye. Now, that very man was lying in two, on the floor of the filthy sewers back on Kaladesh, and his murderer, The Wanderer, of all people, had led them here- wherever 'here' even was. But, instead of finding the sword-wielding culprit, her and Ral only found long, empty, winding hallways that felt oddly suffocating, tempting her with the thought of returning to where they had come from so she could take a satisfactory breath.

And that wasn't even the _half_ of the problems her and Ral wound up encountering!

As if the night needed any more spice, the two of them happened upon a gruesome sight that churned her stomach- both from the staggering amount of dead homunculi and the stench their rotting corpses were starting to give off. To top it all off, though, while she struggled to keep in what little food remained in her stomach, she was treated to one last twist that was enough to make her swallow back her own vomit, and forget all about the room filled to the brim with slaughter.

"Oh... hey, Jaya... fancy meeting you here..."

On the other side of the room, coming in from another entrance, was a totally different group who had been gawking at the disgusting scenery: Kaya, the Gatewatch's latest recruit that Chandra didn't know very well personally, one of her friends who seemed to be an almost constant accessory to her presence and, most strikingly of all, Jaya, who looked a lip-flap away from giving Chandra an earful of a lecture, but wasn't sure about what.

"What in the Nine Hells are you doing here!?" She shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Chandra, who restrained herself from flinching, lest she catch even the quickest glance at the dead homunculi at her feet.

"I-I could ask you the same thing!" She shouted back instead. "... Where are we, anyway?"

"You don't- how did you even get here if you don't even know where you are, child!?" Jaya asked, sounding bewildered.

"It was something of a blind leap, I guess you could say..." Chandra began to explain.

"We followed The Wanderer here- apparently she's been working for Tezzeret all this time." Ral elaborated, sounding rushed. "Look, can we have this conversation somewhere else- preferably a place less filled with dead bodies?"

"Ugh- yes, _please!_ " Kaya's friend sighed heavily in relief as he pressed himself tight against the wall and began inching along it towards them, his face tilted as high up as it could go and his expression twisting into a grimace every time he so much as tapped one of the homulculi corpses with his foot. Jaya and Kaya both did the same after some hesitation, seeing as there was no other way to go but through.

Chandra, on the other hand, retreated back around the corner and down the hall while Ral waited for the others. She leaned against one of the walls lined with intricate silver designs and sighed, trying to take a deep breath, but still, somehow, feeling like she was coming up short.

It made a little bit of sense for Kaya's friend to tag along (what was his name... Teyo?) like _she_ had with Ral, but Jaya also being apart of their group didn't make much sense. It all felt like reality was bending specifically just to spite her, personally, and nobody else.

"How did you all find this place? Were you led here, too?" She heard Ral ask as the other party made their way over to them.

"Yes, but not exactly by the same person. It's a long story- but we got a tip that Tezzeret was going to try luring everyone else to this place... looks like we were right, if _you're_ already here." Kaya said, her voice echoing from inside the room. "I'm just glad we found you in one piece, considering who led you here... What about Dovin Baan?"

"Funny you should mention us being lucky to be in one piece, because, well, we can't say the same for Baan..." Ral admitted, and Chandra wrinkled her nose in frustration as she listened. "The Wanderer showed up to get rid of loose ends before leading us here... guess we fell for whatever trap Tezzeret is laying."

"Like I said, it's a good thing we found you then- as far as we know, Tezzeret isn't expecting us." Kaya mentioned. "What worries me is... the Wanderer was supposed to have been leading _Vraska_ to Tezzeret, wasn't she? You haven't seen her at all, have you?"

"No... No, I haven't." Ral's voice suddenly became grim. "Y-you don't think-"

"Let's not." Kaya abruptly cut him off. "Vraska's a perfectly capable woman, let's not assume the worst just yet. Right now, we need to focus on finding our way through here- surely, you've felt something strange."

"Strange? Like what?"

Chandra lifted her head, growing interested in their discussion, only to come face to face with Jaya and her deeply furrowed brow.

"You shouldn't be here." She stated harshly.

"Wh-why?" Chandra stammered, struggling to keep from sounding too insulted. "It's a little too late for that, don't you think?"

"This wasn't something you were supposed to have known about- who told you?" Jaya sternly asked.

"Saheeli- the night before the funeral, Nissa and I..." Chandra had to pause, feeling her heart ache from saying her beloved companion's name. "... It doesn't matter, it's obviously just going to make you mad. Why wasn't I supposed to know?"

"That self-important dragon, Niv-Mizzet, wanted this operation to be kept a secret." Jaya explained, but there was something about the way she spoke that made it sound like only a half-truth.

"Why was I, _specifically_ , not supposed to know?" Chandra pried, feeling only more compelled to push the issue as her mentor heaved an exasperated sigh. "What were you trying to keep me from?"

"Not everything is about you, Chandra."

"Not unless it's something _you're_ involved with!" Chandra accused. "You wouldn't have even bothered if this wasn't about me."

She paused, trying to think of an explanation herself, if Jaya was going to continue refusing to be forthcoming.

"... If Vraska was sent after Tezzeret... and Ral was meant to assassinate Dovin Baan, then-"

"Chandra, don't."

"This is about Liliana, isn't it!?"

"We don't need to have this conversation now-"

" _Isn't it!?_ " Chandra repeated, much louder and several times more harsh, drawing the attention of the other three who were still congregated further up the hallway. "It's because you were going to go and assassinate Liliana, and didn't want me to know!"

"I was there to hear you arguing with Jace about being conflicted over killing the woman, Chandra. If it were up to the Gatewatch to see to it that Liliana is punished, you would have done everything in your power to stand in their way." Jaya scolded, growing more and more visibly upset as well. "As you said back on Ravnica, you still think of that traitor, even after everything she did, as a friend."

"So you conspired to kill her behind my back!?" Chandra gasped, feeling her stomach do several flips as she spoke.

"I did this to _help_ you- to keep you from having to choose between her and the Gatewatch!"

"'Did this to help me'? Please, what do you know!?" Chandra snarled.

"I know plenty, Chandra! Need I remind you, I've known you for longer than any of the Gatewatch have. I looked after you for years on Regatha, long enough to know just how stubborn you are, and how driven by your emotions you can become!" Jaya snapped back. "You're willing to do reckless things just so you can do whatyou want! If Liliana's betrayal and Gideon's passing didn't destroy the Gatewatch, then your selfish refusal to cast aside your feelings just might!"

"No... Y-you're wrong!" Chandra insisted.

"Am I? If it came down to it, would you turn a blind eye towards the Gatewatch if they were left to punish Liliana Vess for her crimes?" Jaya mercilessly questioned. "That elf woman you're so attached to is a member of the Gatewatch, too, is she not? If she were to involve herself, too, what would you do then?"

"Please, leave her out of this!"

"Who would you choose, then!?" Jaya continued. "Who are you going to choose _now_ should be the more appropriate question. Are you willing to stand aside, now, knowing that Kaya and I are meant to return to Ravnica with proof of Liliana's death? Are you going to try and stop me?!"

"I don't know!" Chandra roared, her words loudly echoing through the hall, leaving the air around them ringing. "I didn't know then and I still don't know, alright!? Even before all of this, I didn't know what I was going to do! Is that the answer you want!?"

"No, but it's the answer I expected."

"Jaya, stop!" Much to both of their surprises, Kaya stepped in and rested a firm hand on the older woman's shoulder. "Now isn't the time to be discussing any of this!

Chandra turned away, feeling an already impressive lump in her throat begin to grow even larger and warmer. The more she tried to regain her composure, the worse her control became, as her breathing grew more and more uneven, until it resembled sobs, and her vision blurred as her eyes began to sting. She pressed herself against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut, trying and- for the most part- failing to reign her emotions in.

"I'm trying to make a point." Jaya argued, pulling away from Kaya's grasp.

"Well, make it another time!" Kaya said with a frown. "I know you're upset... and worried, in your own way, but right now we have bigger problems to worry about! Besides... she's not the only one who has conflicting feelings about Liliana. Don't go putting all of this pressure just on her."

"You, too, eh? Figures, we shouldn't have stopped on Gobakhan, just for you to get cold feet." Jaya huffed through her snarl. "Just remember, the only thing that's going to grant you re-entry back on Ravnica is proof that you took Liliana Vess' life. You don't need to prattle on to me about your own, personal morals but... perhaps you can explain yourself to a certain lover of the man who took on all of your burdens so you could come here, just to waffle on your integral role as an assassin."

"Ral-" Kaya began, before a loud rumble that overpowered all other sound cut her off. The three of them turned just in time to watch as the silver-lined walls of the hall shifted and folded, coming to a stop with an equally powerful boom before any of them had a chance to try and leap through to rejoin with the others. The path back up the hallway was sealed tight, leaving Kaya, Jaya and Chandra on one side of the newly formed wall, and Ral and Teyo on the other. Kaya only made it just in time to watch their potential escape be reduced to a sliver before shutting up entirely, leaving her to pound her fists against the blockade.

"Damnit!" She groaned, fingers desperately prying at anything that felt like a crack, in hopes she could summon the strength to force her way through and get back to the rest of the group. "Ral! Teyo!"

Neither of the two could be heard answering her desperate call.

" _Shit!_ "

"Don't waste your effort, or your breath- those walls are probably thick enough to keep even the strongest of people from breaking through. Those two probably can't even hear you, either." Jaya was quick to point out. "Looks like someone wants to keep us split up."

"Urgh! What now!?" Kaya groaned in frustration, tearing herself away from the wall.

"Interesting you ask, since we're not exactly left with a miriad of choices here- use your brain." Jaya said coldly. "We keep moving until we find Teyo and Ral... or someone else." With that, she turned the opposite way and started leading the way down the dark hallway, content to move forward regardless of whether or not Kaya or Chandra followed her.

"Of course..." Jaya paused purposefully in front of Chandra, not even casting a side glance in her direction. "There's always the option of planeswalking away and forgetting all about this whole mess."

Chandra frowned, casting her still-watery gaze down at her feet. Her overflow of emotions had come and gone, but she was still overwhelmingly upset. She didn't know whether she wanted to stay rooted to that one spot against the wall, follow after Jaya, or take her final word of advice and run away. All she _did_ know was the continued proof that she always managed to screw everything up by doing or saying just the wrong things- and, in this case, even _feeling_ the wrong things.

"By the goddess, this is a mess..." Kaya sighed as she approached, stopping in front of Chandra as well once Jaya had continued on. "... Look, if it's any consolation, I'm just as much apart of the Gatwatch as you are. I have just as much a say about Liliana as everyone else does, so if you want, you can think of me as an ally." She reached out with an open hand, patiently waiting for Chandra to acknowledge it and take it- or shoot her down.

Chandra studied each of Kaya's long, elegant fingers as she considered what she had said, before heaving an uneasy, quivering sigh and taking her hand.

"Thanks..." She muttered, feeling a slight warmth return to her chest. "... For everything."

"No problem, I'm used to staning up to people much, much older than her- I'm used to it by now." Kaya grinned. "Now, let's get moving, before she starts yelling again."

**Vraska**

From the top of her head, to the tips of her toes, there wasn't a part of Vraska's body that wasn't aching in some way. Even her eyelids, that were heavy enough to require actual effort to raise, throbbed slightly as she struggled to open her eyes, immediately taking in the bright glare of sunlight filtering in through a canopy of leaves. With a weak groan, she closed them again, returning to the safety of darkness, and possibly back into the tempting embrace of sleep. However, before she could completely fade, a shocking realization pulled her back into consciousness: The fact that she was still alive.

She remembered the unspeakable horror that had nearly trampled her beneath its feet, and the mighty elemental that had taken it down. She remembered an unfamiliar silhouette, and a voice so soft and comforting she could have sworn it was simply death itself come to gently carry her away into the afterlife. She remembered the wound in her side, the pain, and the warmth of her own blood- all of them feeling like distant memories while the pain remained as nothing but a sting that flared up slightly as she rolled over. She remembered The Wanderer. She remembered Tezzeret. She remembered-

" _Jace!_ " She gasped as she clawed her way into a sitting position, only to regret everything, down to how heavily she breathed, as the constant, throbbing ache that flowed through her entire body gripped her tightly and kept her from moving. However, even the most intense pain wasn't going to keep her from returning to his side, to make sure he was alright. She made it as far as struggling onto her knees, intense pain and all, before a gentle hand rested itself against her shoulder. But, for as soft and careful as it was, it did nothing to hide the hidden strength of whoever it belonged to, who easily overpowered her and forced her back down onto the ground.

"Stop, you're going to hurt yourself moving around like that!" A quiet voice scolded her, and as Vraska forced her eyes to open once more, she spied the unmistakable vibrantly-green gaze of Nissa Revane, a member of the Gatewatch, like Jace was, who was as unpredictable as she was powerful- or so she had displayed back on Ravnica. And now, she was here... _wherever it was they were_.

"Wh-where am I?" Vraska managed to utter despite her dry throat and jaw that refused to unclench.

"You're on Zendikar: my home plane- and I wouldn't try getting up so fast, you're not out of the woods yet..." Nissa paused, seeming to notice something before the tiniest smile spread across her lips and a chuckle as quiet as a passing breeze escaped her. "I mean, we are quite literally in the middle of them..."

Vraska was distracted by her charms for only a moment before she shook her head and attempted to rise again, only for Nissa to hold her firmly in place.

"Please don't- I only just got your wound closed." She said, her words formed like she was making a humble request instead of a very serious demand, but her hand that continued to keep her from rising even an inch did the rest of the talking for her.

"But, Jace-" Vraska began to protest before wincing, and finally allowing herself to be guided back down onto the ground. She fought, but her aching body protested even harder than she could manage. "... He's in trouble... and it's all my fault." Emotions she could easily hold down bubbled up in her weakness, leaving her lip trembling as she spoke.

"Jace is in trouble? What happened to him!?" Nissa asked, looking incredibly concerned.

"I... I don't know. I was ambushed and wound up here before I had a chance to find out..." Vraska muttered "He's in this mess because of me... I have to go back!"

"Not in your condition! I can't let you go if it means you'll only wind up getting even more hurt than when you arrived, especially since you're Jace's..." Nissa paused, brows knitting together thoughtfully as a slight blush tinted her cheeks. "... I saw you two kiss back on Ravnica, so you _must_ be... ooh, but I can't think of the word... I can't quite say I know it..."

"What do you mean, don't you and that Chandra girl have something similar?" Vraska asked, raising a single eyebrow as the elf appeared to grow more and more troubled. "... Am I _wrong?_ "

"No, you're not... at least I _think_ you're not... to be honest, I'm still trying to define what it is Chandra and I have. It's not a word I know, or a feeling I'm familiar with. It's new and endlessly interesting, just like her... just as unpredictable and inexplicable, too." Nissa lowered her head, her gaze traveling down to her hands now folded neatly in her lap. Oddly enough, Vraska felt all sense of urgency bleed out of her, and it wasn't just from the paralyzing ache still weighing her down. "I want to be with her, every chance, every second... I want to be close to her, and feel her warmth... but she holds me at a distance and says not to force myself... but I'm _not._ "

"Mmn..." Vraska slowly nodded, keeping her response brief and giving Nissa more than enough room to continue talking. Her parted lips revealed she had more than a few words she wanted to say, but her eyes that flitted from side to side revealed her apprehension. "... You think there's a reason she's like that."

"I _know_ why she's like that." Nissa corrected her before Vraska could even finish her sentence, partially speaking over her as her hands in her lap tightened into fists. "It's because she doesn't trust me when I say I want to be around her..."

"Doesn't trust you?" Vraska narrowed her eyes as she felt a gentle throb, unrelated to the rest of her aches and pains, somewhere deep in her chest.

"Before... Back when Liliana was still apart of the Gatewatch, I... I left. Truth be told, I parted ways with the Gatwatch before what happened on Ravnica, and gave up my oath. I felt betrayed, and like there was no one who I could trust... I was hurt." Nissa explained, pausing to wipe at one of her eyes with the back of her hand a single time. "... But, despite the validity of my own feelings, I think I hurt Chandra in a deep way I won't be able to easily heal. That day, to her, I didn't just cast aside my oath... I cast aside _her._ "

"Is that so...?" Vraska said, her words effecting her more than she could ever know. "I... I think I understand, I've been there... in some form or another. Trust is an easy think to break, but it's a hard thing to earn."

"I want to know how to get her to trust me again. I want to know what I am to her, really and truly... I want to hold her close." Nissa continued longingly. "How can I make her see that it was one time, and that I would rather die than let it happen again? I don't want to hurt her like that ever again, and knowing that I hurt her at all... I hate myself for it. How do I fix this?

"I'm pretty new to the whole romance thing, myself, I'm afraid... Personally, I'm new to the whole having people around in any meaningful capacity concept, if I'm being honest. I've lived a life where every bond I formed was seen as nothing but a risk- a liability. I kept my heart closed for so long, I'm surprised it even works at all." Vraska admitted. "But... from one romantic novice to another, maybe you need to show how sorry you are with your actions, if words may fail you. Stay by her side, no matter how much it feels like she's pushing you away. Deep down, there's a girl who wants to love you... who _wants_ to be loved. It's going to take time, and it's probably going to hurt... but love, no matter how rough and rocky the journey, is worth it."

"Love..." Nissa repeated, appearing to be soothed simply by speaking the word alone. Vraska, too, felt as if her small crack of a smile alone was enough to take the edge off of her aching joints, but it wasn't enough to hold off the urgency of her situation for too much longer.

"Right- distractions aside, I can't stay here! I appreciate you being concerned, but I cant just lie around and wait until its safe for me to find out of Jace is alright when every passing second could mean life or death!" She insisted. "If you want to help, fine, but it's going to have to be out there and not cooped up on this plane!"

"I can't let you just leave as you are, you're in no shape to be charging into _anything_ by yourself-"

"And, like I've been telling you, nothing you say is going to convince me to stay here! I need to-"

"Now, you didn't let me finish." Much to Vraska's surprise, Nissa cut her off, taking back the power in their conversation. Her voice, while soft, was brimming with power. "I _said_ you can't go running off on your own... which is exactly why you're going to need help."

"From who?" Vraska asked.

"Oh, I have a connection or two." Nissa said with a slight smile. "I _am_ a member of the Gatewatch, after all."

**Jace Beleren**

The atmosphere was so tense, Jace could practically taste it. It certainly hadn't felt this way before- on Innistrad, on Kaladesh, Amonkhet, or any of their unfortunate run-ins during the past- but, now, Liliana's presence felt different. It demanded his attention, even though every logical part of him wanted to pretend she wasn't there. He could hear her footsteps, feel her eyes boring into his back, and sense her presence mere steps behind him, even without being able to read minds. She was absolutely everywhere, and it made his skin crawl.

Maybe it was because he had seen what she was capable of, how easily she could betray people who called her "friend", and how seamlessly she could kill indiscriminately. Maybe it was a byproduct of his time on Ixalan, after finding himself again, and seeing every single one of his mistakes in a new light and through new eyes. Or, maybe, it was because he had found someone who loved him, on a level much more intimate than just skin-deep, and it put every memory he had of Liliana into a starkly uncomfortable perspective.

He looked back at her, but was only able to hold her gaze for a second, or maybe shorter, before he whipped his head back around to face the long, dark hallway before them. He missed the days where being around her stole his breath in a different sort of way, but at the same time wanted nothing to do with them at all. He wanted nothing to do with _her_ at all! And yet, with every turn of his head, there she was.

"Augh! What in the blazes is with you two!? Why are you both so quiet!?" Rat, the invisible girl who had been sticking close to Liliana ever since Dominaria, spoke up, breaking the silence with a groan and the stamping of her feet. Strangely enough, Tezzeret's fortress had no effect on her being impossible to see. "I swear, I've seen people in funeral processions who held better conversations! Am I traveling around with _statues!?_ It hasn't even been that long, but I'm starting to miss Mistress Kaya and Teyo already!"

"Then why don't you go and find _them_ instead!?" Liliana snapped with an annoyed growl.

"Well, maybe I-" Rat began to say, before quickly cutting herself off. "Heeey, I see what you're trying to pull! You aren't going to trick me into leaving you that easily! When this Rat makes a promise, she sticks to it!"

"Forgive me, if I don't compliment you on your tenacity..." Liliana huffed.

"- But would it kill either of you to hold even one conversation!?"

"Oh, you have no idea." Liliana grumbled, and Jace could feel her aiming her words right at the back of his head. For once, he was glad that, within the halls of Tezzeret's fortress, he couldn't read what she was thinking.

"There's nothing to discuss anyway." Jace felt the need to retort, something spiteful coiling around deep inside of himself as he spoke.

"Hmph... I certainly don't mind the silence, I happen to recall this sort of silent treatment behavior to be normal, unless you wanted something from me- but, I wouldn't say there's _'nothing'_ to discuss." Liliana must have caught the hint of sharpness in his voice and, instead of agreeing, she decided to retaliate, now that she had been provoked. Each spoken syllable stabbed into him, making him forget all about his still-very-vulnerable wound in his side. "I am a bit curious..."

"If this isn't about why I didn't kill you when I had the chance, then-" Jace began to say, before Liliana cut him off with a laugh.

"Not at all, knowing you'll hesitate is enough for me, especially once I'm forced to go on the run after we're through here. I'm not even surprised, we have a _history_ , after all, you and I." She spoke smugly, and Jace didn't need to turn around to know that she was smirking. The word "history" felt like poisen being injected straight into his veins.

"'History' is a very _gentle_ way of putting it." He muttered.

"I'm more curious about what this 'Queen Vraska' is to you. Surely, she isn't the same Vraska who helped Bolas procure the Golden Sun, is she?" Liliana asked, and the question made Jace feel like he was being stabbed all over again. The way she said her name filled him with a sort of anger that made him grind his teeth behind his sharp frown. "If that's the case, you sure know how to pick them."

" _'Pick them'?_ " Jace forced himself to repeat her words, despite the fact that they left his tongue burning from wanting to say more- much, much more.

"You're a very easy person to read, Jace, especially without all the glamour and illusion to cover it all up. You don't look that sort of way when talking about just anyone." She chuckled. " _I_ should know."

"Are you actually asking, or are you trying to piss me off- because I can't tell." He snapped coldly. With an irritated grumble, he finally turned around, taking her by surprise as she nearly collided with him. "Vraska isn't a single thing like you, outside of being involved with Bolas before. She keeps secrets, but she isn't insincere. She doesn't value people based on how useful they can be to her. She's gone out of her way to help me, even when there were times when she could have easily taken advantage. And, you know what else?"

"What?" Liliana bit back, not even holding back a shred of how irritated she was.

There was a noticeable pause, as Jace considered even answering her. It was impossible to tell whether or not doing so probably would even make him feel better, or make her feel even worse. However, the words felt as if they were pressed right up against his teeth, begging to be set free and used like knives.

"... I actually love her."

"Oh! So that's what your relationship with him is!" Rat spoke up, breaking the crushing tension with a proud gasp, like she was confirming a particularly hot piece of gossip she already had a hunch about. It wasn't very often people inserted themselves into the more dark and frustrating parts of his past so casually, and it left Jace so irritated that it itched.

"Shut up, Rat!" The both of them shouted in unison.

"I heard it that time! Someone's definitely down that way!" A voice suddenly echoed from around the corner up ahead.

Rat made a noise that bordered on disappointment, like she had expected the situation to turn out any better than it had. Judging by how Liliana's gaze was slowly lead away and to the side, the girl most likely began to walk down the hall, towards the source of the noise, with a huff, no doubt turning her nose up at them.

"Are you _stupid?_ Stay here!" Liliana hissed, but it sounded like Rat was paying her no mind.

"I know what I'm doing." She grumbled. "I know that voice anywhere."

No sooner had she spoken than a familiar face emerged around the corner. Jace vaguely recognized him, remembering him from being among Kaya's small collection of friends, but struggled to recall if he had ever introduced himself during the chaos. However, Rat seemed to recognize him plenty more than him, judging by how she called his name.

" _Teyo!_ "

They boy flung open his arms, catching the girl that Jace could hear but couldn't see. She must have taken a running start by how he struggled to keep from stumbling backward before wrapping his arms around her.

"Rat! Thank the gods it's you!" He said with a relieved sigh.

"What's this about a rat?" A second voice, much more familiar to Jace asked.

"No, no, not a rat, Rat! Like from Ravnica!" Teyo corrected, just as Ral Zarek, too, turned the corner, bending down and focusing hard at what appeared to be an empty space in his arms.

"Well... I'll be damned..." He said, his features relaxing as he pulled away in surprise. "How did you wind up here? Last I checked, you weren't a planeswalker."

"Maybe you just don't check often enough, then." Rat chuckled.

"She's the one who warned us about this place, otherwise, we wouldn't have known to come here." Teyo explained.

"Yeah, speaking of which, where are the others? Are they okay!? Nothing bad happened while I was away, did it!?" She gasped. "I'm sorry, I had to go back to Dominaria, I couldn't just give up and let things be like that!"

"It's fine, they're fine- I _hope._.." Teyo sighed. "We just got separated from them, that's all. We were actually just looking for them, before we... found..." He gazed up at Ral Zarek, realizing that he was no longer interested in him, or Rat. He had grown still, like he was sizing up something incredibly dangerous lurking in the hallway. With one hand on his gauntlet, he scowled, and Jace became hyper-aware of the other member of their party again.

"What is _she_ doing here!?" He snapped. "Jace, you, too, what the hell is going on here!?"

"Ral, stop, it's not what you think!" He gasped.

"Well, then, I sure would like to know the full explanation of what you're doing with a traitor and a murderer!" Ral shot back.

"Mister Zarek, stop!" Rat suddenly cried as Ral stumbled backward, seemingly from her yanking him backward. "She came here to help us, it's okay!"

"'Help' is a strong, strong word there- I came here to take back something Tezzeret stole from me, it's only a coincidence that it's going to help you in the end." Liliana corrected her harshly. "Regardless, I didn't come here for a fight, so save it."

"Pretty bold of you to tell me that, after you helped Bolas nearly destroy my home!" Ral scoffed.

"Look, if you really want to continue this whole man hunt that's going on, you are more than welcome to come find me after we're done here, but right now it sounds like you have bigger, uglier fish to fry- or are you here, in Tezzeret's fortress, looking for someone else?" Liliana said as she folded her arms, hardly seeming even half as on edge as Ral was.

"Ral, stop. She saved my life, we at least owe her our trust- _for now_." Jace finally stepped in, although it felt as if he were forcing himself to do so. He couldn't help but cringe slightly, before continuing. "... And, she's right: Tezzeret, as well as this whole fortress, are a much bigger threat right now. It's not exactly ideal, but right now we need to focus on priorities."

"Karlov's ghost, Jace, you, too?" Ral groaned before dropping out of his defensive stance, albeit with an incredible air of dissatisfaction. "If this winds up blowing up in our faces, don't be surprised when you get saddled with most of the blame."

"I'm aware of the risks, Ral- _well_ aware." Jace sighed, suddenly feeling leagues more exhausted than he had only moments ago. Stopping Ral's wrath was almost like stopping a stampede with his bare hands.

"I want Bolas' spirit gem, which is apparently powering this place, and _you_ all want it gone- we all get what we want in the end, so long as you hold off that murderous intent of yours." Liliana added before turning her attention to Jace. Her casual stare effected him more than Ral's scowl. "Which, by the way, we're headed in the direction of, aren't we?"

"... Well..."

" _Aren't we!?_ " She repeated, this time with much more power behind her words.

"I was hoping to find familiar hallway, but, now that I'm looking at it, they all do look the same..." Jace regrettably admitted.

"So, what you're saying is, you might as well have been leading us around in _damn circles!?_ " Liliana yelled. "Even now, you jump into things hoping that pure confidence you'll succeed will carry you through! Do you even have a plan at all!?"

"Sorry, if I was a little too busy getting stabbed to sit down and plot one out, alright!?" He argued.

"Wait!" Rat suddenly spoke up. "Weren't you were following the sound!"

" _Sound?_ " Jace questioned, his already building annoyance reflecting itself in his words, whether he meant to come across that way or not. "What sound!?"

"You mean you can't hear it!? You were on the right track, too, so I figured you could!" Rat said. "... Can anybody here hear that!? Teyo, Mister Zarek, anybody?"

" _What sound?_ " Liliana, surprisingly, asked, with a similar amount of bothered impatience.

" _Sheesh_ , okay, so maybe I'm the only one who can hear it- which is a lucky thing for the rest of you, too!" Rat finally gave in. "There's this weird... humming noise- its coming from the walls. Something's carrying an electric current or something, maybe it's supplying power to where we need to be."

"Have your ears always been that keen?" Ral asked.

"Really, you think they're keen? I've always thought my hearing was nothing special, but then again, I guess nobody ever asked me to use it..." Rat said, obviously being genuinely effected by even the smallest praise.

Jace, meanwhile, approached one of the walls, and ran his hand along some of the twisting, silver designs he had shrugged off as being decoration at first glance. Nowthat he was paying attention, he could feel that they were all slightly hot to the touch, standing out in contrast against the cold metal they were built into.

"You said we were on the right track?" He asked.

"Judging by how the humming has been growing louder, I'd say yeah- if not to the spirit gem, then maybe to something else that might point us in the right direction." Rat confirmed.

"Looks like you'll be leading the way, then." He said with a nod, turning in what he hoped was her direction. "Do you think you can handle that?"

"Psh, 'do you think you can handle that'. I handled my way through a war zone, I can follow a humming noise just fine." She snorted confidently. "You can leave it to me, Mister Beleren."

Jace fell slightly behind, allowing the others to start following after her before he did, seeing as he appeared to be the only one in the group who couldn't see her to some capacity. Liliana, much to his surprise, sidled up beside him, matching his stride. He purposefully turned away from her, but it was immediately clear that she didn't care for being ignored.

"Thanks for the save back there." She said, although it was impossible to judge whether or not she was sincere by her tone. It was the same as always, lingering somewhere between being sarcastic and provocative.

"I did it to deescalate the situation, it wasn't for you." He corrected, refusing to leave any room for interpretation, _especially_ from her.

"Hmm, whatever you say." She said with a shrug, before walking on ahead. Jace frowned, a sour taste lingering in his mouth from the exchange, and frankly everything they had said to one another. He hadn't been quite sure what to expect from their journey, but at the same time, what had happened so far was hardly a surprise to him.

**Kaya**

The silence that had fallen among the group made Kaya particularly uneasy. Wandering the halls of Tezzeret's lair, without half of the group and all of their magic, the time spent navigating through the dark should have been dedicated to formulating some sort of plan- not only for if they happened to cross the path of the fortress' deranged owner, but also The Wanderer as well, who had no one else to lead into Tezzeret's trap.

But, unfortunately, Jaya and Chandra were too busy being upset with one another to pay the circumstances of their mission any mind. While Kaya didn't have the heart to be upset with Chandra, whose gaze hardly lifted from off the floor, she had to actively police herself from giving Jaya, who was still leading the group, a piece of her mind. Putting poor Chandra on the spot like she did had been downright cruel, pulling her in every direction and expecting her to chose, and every choice involved losing something. It didn't sit right with Kaya, and lately, she was starting to feel that a whole lot of things weren't sitting right with her.

'Did I wind up here because I wanted to, or did I wind up tangled up in this because I was _told_ to?' She thought to herself, the irritating silence at least giving her some free time to think. 'Did I want to kill Liliana because I thought it was the right thing to do? Because I was told it was the right thing to do? Would I have done this if it wasn't to make up for my own crimes? Would I have done this for the Gatewatch? Would I have done this because I thought it was just?'

The pressure of her crimes that had brought about so much destruction. The pressure of debts that came with being the Orzhov Guildmaster. The pressure of her oath- would killing Liliana Vess help in relieving any of those things, or would it only succeed in dragging her down even further?

"So, after all of this is done-" Kaya gasped in surprise as a voice cut through the silence, with her hand lightly pressed against her chest as she was roused from her musings that were as long and winding as the hallways they walked.

"Whoa, hey, sorry to surprise you!" It was Chandra, who looked just as shocked as she had felt.

"It's fine, I was just really deep in thought, that's all." Kaya admitted. "What were you saying?"

"I'm just curious... okay, maybe it's more than curious, and is just me being... _worried_." She continued, frowning slightly as she rubbed her arm. "What are you planning on doing about Liliana once this is over? If your mission is similar to Ral's then... you won't be able to return back to Ravnica until you... _y'know._.."

"Yeah, I know..." Kaya sighed. "I wish I had a straightforward answer- not just for you, but myself, too. When this all started, I was so sure of what I needed to do... but not every assassination is as simple as just getting rid of the bad guy. Sometimes, you're going after a person like Tezzeret: confirmed no-good bastard who no one will miss. But, I'm starting to realize that's not always the case."

"I appreciate the hesitation... everyone else was able to give up on Liliana so easily. I-I mean, of course, why shouldn't they, after what she did, but..." Chandra's expression grew somber a she pressed her lips together, looking like she was having second thoughts about saying anything at all. " _Gids_ didn't give up on her. He trusted her until the very end... trusted her with everything he had. Maybe he even _loved_ her- who knows, he obviously isn't around to ask, so I can't say for sure. But, I do know that he felt enough for her that he was willing to die for her, after years of trying to live for everyone else. I know I said she was my friend, and that's not a lie... but a part of me wants to preserve Gids' final wish, or at least what I assume it was: for Liliana to live."

"You loved him, didn't you?" Kaya asked with a slight smirk, unable to hold herself back from trying to lighten the mood with a gentle tease.

"I-" At first, it sounded like Chandra was going to protest, but the blush that appeared on her cheeks quickly faded as she considered her question with an accepting nod. "I did- in some ways, I still do. Now, I just want to protect what he left behind."

"To protect... hmm..." Kaya thoughtfully hummed. "Maybe that's it..."

"What?"

"Doing the right thing... doesn't always necessarily mean bringing someone to justice, or killing people who do wrong." She spoke slightly under her breath as she reached up to run her fingers along her chin meditatively. "It can be about protecting people as well."

"I... guess?" Chandra said with a slight tilt of her head.

"Sorry, ignore me, I'm just... remembering my oath, that's all."

"If you two could finish up your little heart-to-heart," Jaya gruffly spoke up, "it looks like there's something up ahead. I'd look alive, just in case, if I were you."

"Right." Kaya agreed as she peered over the old woman's shoulder, noticing a light at the end of the hallway, with nowhere else to veer off to. Her hand traced along the hilt of one of her daggers attached to her belt, her muscles growing more and more tense the closer they got the the exit.

The hallway eventually opened up, leading them into a much larger room that, much to Kaya's relief, was at least homunculis-corpse-free. The entire room was lit by lamps mounted all along the walls, their pale-blue lights bouncing off the metallic walls. From where they stood, she could see the floor above them, and yet another floor above that, making the chamber out to be some sort of atrium. Several other hallways branched out from there, leaving them with a decision to make as the three of them stopped in the center of the room.

"Great..." Kaya huffed. " _Now_ which way to we go?"

"I think I would have preferred a dead end." Chandra muttered.

"Well, then, call me a djinn, because your wish is my command." A voice spoke from one of the floors above. All of them twisted their head up, and Kaya felt as if the floor had vanished from beneath her feet. Casually sitting on the railing of the second floor was The Wanderer, and, although she couldn't see the woman's expression beneath her mask, she definitely sounded quite pleased to see them.

"You!" Chandra gasped.

"I finally found you, little mouse. What's more, it looks like you've made some friends along the way. I guess the infestation in this place is worse than I thought." She chuckled slightly as she stood, remaining perfectly balanced on the narrow railing. "Nothing a little exterminating won't fix, though."

"We'll see about that-!" Chandra began to growl before Kaya reached out and pushed her back behind her with a wide sweep of her arm. "Hey!"

"Take Jaya and get as far away from here as you can- try to find Teyo and Ral." She commanded in a stone-cold-serious tone.

"But-"

"It won't do us any good if she picks all of us off here, so let's not do her any favors by lining up in an orderly fashion for her to slice into bits." Kaya cut her off, refusing to let her get even a word in. "I'll hold her off for as long as I can."

"For as long as you can until _what_ , though?" Chandra asked, clearly worried.

"Don't work yourself up over me, just focus on hauling ass." Kaya said, trying to sound reassuring, even though she knew the fight to come was only going to end one of two ways: with hear leaving alive, or The Wanderer.

"She's right, we need to go!" Jaya agreed, taking Chandra by the wrist, who was quick to jerk away. She looked back at Kaya, her mouth half open, a thousand pleas and arguments going unsaid. " _Chandra!_ "

"... You'd better not die." She finally spoke up, her voice wavering despite how much she was obviously trying to stay stone-faced.

"Trust me, I'm in no hurry to." Kaya assured her before giving her another light shove. "Now go!"

With a quiet, but incredibly dissatisfied noise, Chandra did just that, as her and Jaya escaped down one of the many halls, leaving Kaya to stand alone in the presence of The Wanderer, who surprisingly had allowed their retreat to happen without seeming the least but bothered.

"One by one, or all together, it will all end up the same." She said with a shrug before she pulled her blade clear of its sheath, a shrill, metallic screech cutting through the air. "With your bodies left in pieces."

The Wanderer's leap from off the railing and onto the ground floor was so fast it was almost enough to stun Kaya. Her hands worked quickly, naturally finding the hilts of her daggers, but only having time to pull them free before she was forced to narrowly dodge out of the way of The Wanderer's blade that whizzed passed her, the glint of the metal too close for comfort.

Thinking fast, Kaya caught herself on her foot before she stumbled backward any further, and thrust herself forward while The Wanderer was still recoiling from her attack. She slashed through the air with one of her daggers, aiming for her side that was left vulnerable for that brief window of time. However, it was as if she had already calculated that Kaya would bounce back so quickly, and managed to lower herself even lower to the ground, bending herself back in a way that would have caused even the most skilled acrobat some discomfort and leaving Kaya's dagger to only slice through strands of her hair that still hung in the air. Safely out of harms way, and in the perfect position to do so, she struck out with one of her feet, easily able to land a kick right against Kaya's stomach from the angle she was at. With a pained gasp, she was knocked away, and uneasily stumbled backward, putting the two women a safe distance away from each other once again.

"Impressive- you're obviously much more agile and much more of a fight than all of those lowly homunculi." The Wanderer laughed as she straightened herself up, slicing the air in front of her dramatically with her blade. "At least, slaughtering you promises a lot more entertainment value."

"Why are you doing this!?" Kaya barked, blades at the ready and waiting for her opponent to make the first move. "You fought against Tezzeret back on Ravnica, so why are you so willing to work for him now?"

"Are you really going to argue ethics in the middle of a fight? Are my motives so important to you that you need to bother asking about them right this second?" She scoffed. "Clearly, your brain isn't as sharp as your body!"

Not bothering with answering Kaya's question, she lunged forward, the tip of her sword dragging across the ground and leaving sparks in her wake, before she swung it up once she had gotten within range. Kaya clenched her teeth as she was forced to retreat, knowing full well trying to block her wide, sweeping blow would only succeed in having one of her daggers knocked right out of her hands. Instead, she practically threw herself backward to get out of the way, before The Wanderer displayed yet another feat of incredible speed that left Kaya feeling disoriented from trying to follow, as she easily spun completely around on her heel and came back around with another swipe of her blade. This time, it was safe enough of a blow to catch, as she crossed the blades of her daggers and stopped The Wanderer's blade just inches away from her face. Metal scraped against mental as neither of them refused to attempt to back off.

"I ought to give you the slowest, most painful death, though, for suggesting I jumped at the opportunity to offer Tezeret my services." The Wanderer spat as she put even more strength into forcing her blade even closer to Kaya's cheek. "Once I'm through here with you, and he gives me what he's owed me for quite some time, he'll finally be dead to me- figuratively and, with any luck, literally."

A strained grunt passed waveringly through Kaya's lips as she struggled against the force of The Wanderer's blade. With every ounce of strength she had, as her knees bent and buckled beneath her, she slowly managed to push the sword away from her face, as well as angling it away from her as well. A moist layer of sweat formed on her brow as she struggled to keep her blades locked with her opponent's, lest she allow it to slip and possibly slice through one of her arms- or, potentially, worse. With one, last, strained moan, she gave her one, last shove, their weapons scraping against each other harshly as she pushed The Wanderer back. Her blade swung down, regardless, but luckily nowhere near Kaya, who was quick to strike.

While each of her attacks was blocked, steel meeting steel in an incredible show of sparks, it was clear that The Wanderer was the one on the defensive this time, stepping further and further back with every strike she knocked away. Kaya had finally found her stride, and was able to attack twice as quickly and twice as often with both of her blades versus her opponent's one.

It was also becoming quickly more and more apparent that the total silencing of all magic didn't discriminate, and it left The Wanderer as nothing more than a particularly skilled sword fighter. Kaya had managed to see the woman's own magic in action back on Ravnica, and while it was very much to her own disadvantage that she couldn't phase through any attacks she couldn't quite dodge, her enemy couldn't channel every time their blades clashed into a devastatingly unstoppable blast of energy. The more she pushed her, the more clear it became that she wasn't just holding back.

An uneven step, an uneasy gasp, and a swing of her sword angled just awkwardly enough were all Kaya needed as she aimed low, striking closer to the hilt of The Wanderer's sword. In order to avoid having her fingers sliced off as well, she was forced to loosen her grip and, as a result, had her weapon knocked free of her hands. It flew through the air, clattering onto the ground a fair distance away. If she wanted to make a run for it, she'd risk leaving herself wide open for another, much deadlier attack- and Kaya refused to even give her that option as she attacked again.

Her blade scrapped against the mask on her face, and sliced through the brim of her hat, but was hardly more fatal than that as The Wanderer flipped backward, nimbly twisting herself through the air and landing on her feet, out of reach of another attack, but also still out of reach of her sword.

"Looks like you're just as powerless in here as I am." Kaya chuckled as she caught her breath. "And now you don't even have a sword."

"That changes nothing." The Wanderer spat.

"Stop this!" Kaya shouted back, lowering her weapons slowly, but not completely. "Stand down, promise to leave this place and abandon Tezzeret, and I'll let you live."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now- I'm not going anywhere." Despite her situation, The Wanderer sounded calm and collected, with not even a hint of anger or frustration in her voice. "Like I said, this changes nothing, because you're wrong... about both of those things."

She reached behind her, back toward her sheath that Kaya had presumed had been empty, and had been too caught up in their battle to bother looking. In spite of her assumptions, the sharp, metal ring of yet another sword getting roughly pulled free echoed through the room, followed by the noise of the point of a blade scraping across the ground, just like before. However this time, as she caught sight of the glint of the secret second blade, Kaya felt a sudden rush that forced her backward, followed by a sharp, overwhelming pain that radiated from her thigh, down her leg and all the way up to her hip. With a surprised, choked cry, she fell to her knees, grasping at the source of her pain.

When she pulled her hand away, her palm was covered with the moist, vivid stain of blood.

"H-How!?" She asked, her voice quivering with agony.

"Do you really think I wouldn't have already known about the nature of this place?" The Wanderer laughed as she slowly began to approach, seeming to take great joy in emphasizing every, little step. "This fortress is a tomb of silence, but inventions made to mimic magic still have a voice here, powered by ingenuity of an inventor instead of a soul of a mage."

In an manner that seemed almost like admiration, she held up her blade, gripping its hilt and running her other hand along the metal, revealing similar silver designs on its surface to what could still be seen twisting and curling along the walls. Her fingers traced along the metalwork in what could only be described as an erotic fashion, as she gazed down at it, and made a content noise to herself.

"A shame, you were starting to become so fun to play with." She sighed, before slicing the ground once more, sending out a second wave of energy. Feebly, Kaya raised her hand, only to have one of her daggers knocked free of her grip and flying back, her own blade slicing her from cheek to eyebrow before being totally flung from her reach. "You just _had_ to go and make me mad..."

Kaya pressed her hand against the newly-formed wound across her face as blood leaked through the cracks in her fingers as well as spilled down to her jaw. She stumbled backward, making sure to keep her weight off her cut-open leg as she tried to devise a way to escape. However, even with the wealth of exits she had to choose from, it didn't matter how far she managed to get- The Wanderer's new blade could reach her, no matter to distance.

"Any last words before I start to _really_ have some fun with you?" She asked as she slowly continued to close the distance between them.

"Hey! If you're looking for words, I have a few choice one's right here!"

Both Kaya and The Wanderer looked to the source of the voice, coming to find Chandra striding back into the room by herself, with no sight of Jaya accompanying her. She stood proudly and battle ready: the stance of a girl who had been told absolutely nothing about the unfortunate nature of Tezzeret's fortress.

"If you want anywhere near Kaya, you're going to have to go through _me!_ "


	10. Chapter 10

**Final Steps**

**Teyo Verada**

Not a single person had spoken since Rat began leading the group through the dark hallways of Tezzeret's fortress. They hadn't come across another person- friend, or foe-, a cleverly hidden trap, or even another horrifying trail of bodies, and yet, Teyo couldn't help but feel on edge. The silence was getting to him, and he almost found himself wishing he was Rat, who was probably much too distracted by the sound she was following to notice it: the tension that lingered in the hush occupied only by footsteps.

Ral made sure to place a considerable distance between him and Liliana, but insisted on keeping an eye on her regardless as he threw look after sharp, suspicious look over his shoulder in her direction. Jace, on the other hand, had taken up the rear, and it was clear that, despite what he had said in her defense, he was just as weary about her as well, but for completely different reasons. Ral seemed to suspect her to turn traitor on them at any moment, alert on edge, while Jace seemed to be exhausted by her very presence, like even if she did decide to make herself their enemy, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Both of them left Teyo not knowing how to feel about her being there, and not having a clear idea of how their brief partnership would end once she got what she wanted.

While he admired Rat's perseverance- that she had convinced Liliana to join them like they had hoped she would- it was starting to hardly seem worth the effort. Once she got what she wanted, she was going to return to her half-constructed mansion in the middle of a wasteland, and things would be back to square one, with them having no proof that she was worth sparing, and Kaya still left with the burden of having to kill her in order to return to Ravnica. All they had to show for Rat's efforts, at the moment, was just a slowly-mounting discomfort that was intensifying from all sides.

"Hmm..." Rat finally spoke up, her single hum feeling like a breath of fresh air to Teyo. She had paused, peering down a smaller corridor that broke off from the one they were traveling down, this one with stairs that led into even thicker darkness. "I _think_ it's coming from down that way."

She took a cautious step down the stairs, and rested her hand against the wall to keep herself steady. No sooner had she done so than lights that lined the walls suddenly flickered to life, lighting up the darkness and almost beckoning them to follow them down. Rat gasped, retracing her one step, as if she expected something else to suddenly appear, but much to her- as well as Teyo's- relief, the lights remained as the only surprise.

"Well that's certainly a sign- not sure what of, but it's certainly better than just more, dark hallways." Ral remarked.

"Jace, you're the only person who's seen where Tezzeret has the spirit gem, does this look at all familiar to you?" Liliana asked, turning away from the now-lit stairway and back towards him, still keeping to the back of the group. Everyone else followed suit, but, surprisingly, he didn't immediately answer, his gaze locked on the lights that led down the stairs. He seemed hesitant, and not just because he didn't want to speak to Liliana.

" _Jace?_ " Ral spoke up after a few long seconds of nothing but silence.

"Excuse us if we're catching you at a bad time here, but we could really use your input." Liliana groaned impatiently.

"Sorry, sorry, I..." Jace finally spoke up, shaking his head as if he was trying to force himself out of a trance. "... This is it- or, at least, if seems like it."

Despite the fact that they were one step closer to finding what they needed to thwart Tezzeret's plot, he couldn't have looked more grim as he spoke. Even as the others began making their way cautiously down the stairs, Jace kept himself at a distance before stopping completely, refusing to take a single step down them as well.

"Are... you alright, Mister Beleren?" Teyo hesitantly asked, pausing to look back at him, unable to ignore his more than obvious unease.

"'Jace' is fine." He said, correcting Teyo instead of answering his question.

As much as Teyo didn't feel quite warmed up to the idea of addressing him so casually, he was dead-set on getting to the bottom of Jace's behavior.

"Alright... _Jace_." He gave in, wondering if Rat's insistence on using little formalities for people was starting to rub off on him. "Something's the matter, isn't it? Is it Liliana, because it looks like she isn't going to be hanging around much longer, so-"

"No, it's..." Jace cut him off before withdrawing again, looking unsure. "... I'm honestly wondering if I should even be here. Why am I coming back here, when Vraska could be..." He pointedly closed his mouth, outright refusing to finish his sentence.

"Y... You aren't suggesting that she's-"

"Are you two coming, or am I interrupting something important?" Liliana called from further down the steps. "Whatever heart to heart you two are having, it can wait until after we finish our business here and I don't have to hang around to hear it."

"Hold on just a minute, we're-"

"Forget it, she's right. The sooner we get rid of the spirit gem, the sooner we can finish up here." Jace cut him off, staring his own descent down the stairs and brushing passed Teyo. "And, once we do, I won't need to hang around here, either."

"Wait, but... what about Tezzeret? This fortress is one thing, sure, but shouldn't we also do something about _him_ as well?" Teyo argued, starting to feel the flickering flames of frustration finally begin to grow inside of him.

"Every second I stay here, Vraska could be..." Jace forced himself to stop once more, swallowing back words. "I came here to face Tezzeret, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm just using it as a chance to run away from the possibility..."

"The possibility of what!?" Teyo couldn't help but snap.

"That I've lost someone else important to me!" Jace shot back, "I'm tired of people being taken from me, and all I've ever done is stand and watch! My grudge against Tezzeret isn't going to get in the way of the single, sliver of hope that I can still, possibly do something this time!"

"But you can: by making sure Tezzeret doesn't get the chance to hurt anyone again!" Teyo urged, but he could immediately tell, by the withering look that Jace gave him, that his argument wasn't as close to winning him over as he had hoped.

"I'll leave the honors to you... I'm sorry." Despite his exhausted tone, Jace's apology sounded genuine as he turned away from Teyo and headed down the steps, as well as passed Liliana, who he hardly even acknowledged. He had his sights set on something completely different now, and it had nothing to do with either of them.

"So this is what 'love' does to the noble Gatewatch founder, Jace Beleren? The man who would heed all warnings to stop a multiversal threat now just leaves the dirty work to others while he sates his own desires?" Liliana called after him, an odd hint of disappointment in her voice. "Now where have I heard _that_ particular observation...?"

Jace paused, looking like he was ready to hurl an equally barbed response back at her, but he held his tongue and turned back around, choosing instead to give her the final word. Liliana scowled, taking her victory unwillingly before she followed after him.

Teyo, now taking up the rear instead, held back an angry groan in response to it all as he began his own descent, and an uncomfortable silence fell over all of them once again.

Their journey downward led the group to a room filled with complex machinery that left Teyo unable to keep from gawking. He followed the complex patterns of pipes and generators, all of it leading down onto the chamber floor, splintering off into the familiar silver swirls that lined the walls that all converged at the center, where the spirit gem was held atop a metal pedestal. He could now hear the low, electric hum that Rat had mentioned before, and it made the air feel as if it were vibrating and left him feeling uncomfortable simply by just standing in the presence of it all.

"Looks like I was right!" Rat said proudly as she strode into the room. "Now, all we have to do is pluck that gem from off of there, and Tezzeret's plot goes bye-bye!"

"Isn't it a little strange, though?" Ral remarked as he looked around, eyes tracing the machinery, like he was mentally taking notes to take back with him to Ravnica. "This is a pretty important place, isn't it? If the spirit gem is literally the key to keeping this place running, you'd think someone like Tezzeret would keep it under lock and key? There's not even a single guard in sight."

" _Right?_ Pretty stupid for a guy who's apparently some big, evil genius." Rat chuckled as she reached the pedestal and made a grab for the gem- only for Liliana to run up and grab her by the collar of her shirt, jerking her back and leaving Rat swiping at thin air.

" _Ow!_ Hey, what gives!?"

"You're the one who's stupid!" She scolded harshly. "Honestly..."

"What!?" Rat asked, rubbing her neck in discomfort.

Liliana gave no word of explanation, and instead looked around, inspecting every member of their party before she set her sights on Teyo, who froze up immediately in response. Much to his dismay, she began walking in his direction, leaving him with only enough time to take a few steps backward in defense before she got in close and reached toward his face. He flinched, squeezing his eyes tightly shut before he felt a shocking, painful tug shoot up from his earlobe. With a gasp, he reached up, realizing that his earring was missing. He pulled his hand away, expecting to find blood staining his fingers, but was more than glad to find nothing of the sort. Relief that he hadn't been injured was short, however, as he looked away from his hand to see Liliana walking back towards the spirit gem with his earring clasped between her fingers.

"Wait! What are you doing with that!?" He asked, but, instead of answering him, Liliana chose to demonstrate as she took his earring and chucked it in the direction of the gem. Before Teyo got the chance to ask again, or even say a single word more, an eruption of sparks sprang up from the surface of the spirit gem, and the lights that illuminated the room flickered several times. Everyone besides Liliana took a step back in surprise, and once everything had settled, Teyo's earring was nothing but a smoldering heap of twisted, smoking metal.

"Holy crap!" Rat exclaimed. "You _saved_ me!"

"That's not the point!" Liliana grumbled. "This thing is powering the entire fortress, and you were just going to run up and grab it with your bare hands? You make a point to say you're not a rat, but you certainly seem to have the brain of one."

"Hey, I'll have you know that rats are actually really smart creatures, so-"

"Oh, will you _please_ shut up and listen!?" Liliana groaned, rubbing her temples. "We can't risk even going near that thing while all of this nonsense is powered on. Until we find a way to shut it off, keep your grubby little hands off of the gem!"

"Okay, okay, so we find a way to switch all of this off." Rat said with a roll of her eyes. "That's easy- of course, I'm just a big, stupid rat, so what do I know?"

"Keep this up and I'm going to see to it that you die like a rat, too!" Liliana growled.

"Rat, please, if you have an idea, you need to let us know!" Teyo insisted. "Don't listen to her- you and I both know that you're plenty smart."

"Thank you." Rat said, throwing a slight smirk in Liliana's direction before continuing. "Mister Zarek, how much of a charge does your lightening accumulator have?"

"I had it fully charged before we left, and I haven't gotten a chance to use it- but will it work in here?" He asked, before Rat hurried over to him, circled around and pressed her ear against his accumulator. Ral stumbled forward slightly, but appeared to be standing as still as he could. "... Well?"

"Humming like a hive full of bees!" Rat confirmed. "Maybe, spells and magic don't work in here, but stuff you build and charge up by hand might still work!"

"I guess it's worth a shot- I might be able to overload the system if you're right-"

"Then get zapping, let's go!" Rat said.

"- but that will leave me without anything to use to defend myself with." Ral continued. "I'm personally not a fan of leaving my ass exposed that much, especially since there's still Tezzeret and The Wanderer to deal with."

"Nothing of yours is going to be exposed once you've got Teyo here able to use his shields again, though!" Rat explained. "Let's also not forget Mistress Kaya, too!"

"And Chandra and Jaya, too!" Teyo added.

"And-" Rat began, turning back to both Jace and Liliana before she cut herself off, making a dissatisfied face. "- _Anyway_ , you're not going to be in this alone. It's risky, I know, but right now, your accumulator is all we have to lift the silence over this place."

"Krokt, I still wish there was some other way..." Ral sighed before shaking his head. "Well, you all should probably stand back, unless you want to get turned into a human light-bulb."

Rat practically herded the rest of the group back up the stairs while Ral readied his gauntlets. Clearly having no intention of using the charge he had saved up sparingly, it wasn't long before both of his gauntlets began to spark wildly, ready to release one, unholy hell of a charge. Teyo covered his eyes at the sign of the first initial flash, as violently bright as it was deadly. He could hear the machinery inside the room begin to hiss and whir furiously, growing louder and higher in pitch over the sharp crackle of electricity. Even though he was nowhere near the blast, he could feel every hair stand on end while small, pinpricks of electricity stung him up and down. He heard someone curse, but he could hardly tell who over the noise.

A loud, frightening _pop_ echoed from somewhere in the room, followed by another, and then another, as whirring and hissing gave way to deflated wheezing and a pained squeal. The smell of burning and the unsettling scent left behind by electricity filled Teyo's nostrils as the blinding light inside the room finally started to fade.

"Gods and demons..." He heard Jace mutter over the remaining crackling and whining.

"Talk about a light show!" Rat said in awe, leaving Teyo quietly concerned over whether or not she had shielded her eyes throughout the entire display.

"That did it... I _hope._ " Ral coughed as he backed out of the room, one hand fanning the smokey air in front of him while the other dusted his clothes off, covered in black soot. Visible sparks traveled up his body, and Teyo couldn't help but wonder if he was as dangerous to touch as the spirit gem had been. Speaking of which...

He peered into the room, squinting as he tried to make out the state of the room through the slowly-lifting smoke. Tubes that had been mounted to the wall hung down freely, swaying back and fourth, and the orange light of small flames could be seen, smoldering inside ruined machinery. Spare wires spit sparks into the air, adding to what little light that still filled the room. At the center of it all, strangely without even the slightest scuff or stain on its surface, was the spirit gem, still intact, unlike everything else around it.

"Guess there's only one thing left for me do, then." Liliana said.

"Well, I'm fresh out of earrings, so-" Teyo commented sarcastically.

"Not that, idiot, there's no way there's any power left still flowing through here." Liliana corrected him harshly as she began to walk back down the stairs. "What I meant was, I'm taking what's rightfully mine, and considering our business here through."

"Be my guest." Ral muttered, stepping out of her way.

Teyo couldn't help but look over at Jace, who looked just about ready to leave as Liliana was. He met his gaze, but only for a split second before quickly looking away and venturing back into the room himself.

"Wai-"

"Wait!" Stealing the words right out of his mouth, Rat shouted as she pushed passed Jace, then Liliana, and ran all the way over to the spirit gem. With a grunt of effort, she grabbed it and yanked it free of the pedestal, stumbling backward from her effort.

"Rat, what are you doing!?" Ral asked.

"Stopping these two from leaving, _duh!_ " She shouted, hugging the spirit gem close to her chest. "We need you here- whether you feel the same or not! Until you both agree to stay and help us fight, the spirit gem stays with me!"

"Like the nine hells it does!" Liliana responded furiously. "Hand it over before I rot those scrawny little arms clean off your body!"

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Rat said teasingly before she turned on her heel and sprinted away out of the room, down a separate corridor.

"Get back here!" Liliana bellowed, running after her.

"Come on, before we lose them!" Ral gasped as he, too, rushed out of the room. Teyo began to run, also, before he realized that Jace was being oddly hesitant.

"...Are you coming?" He asked. "Or are you just going to leave anyway?"

"No, I can't leave until Liliana does, I'm not leaving her to do who knows what else while I'm not around." He sighed. "It's just... you probably didn't notice but, the second that Rat touched that gem, I could see her, clear as day."

**Chandra Nalaar**

After running blindly through the dark, winding hallways of the fortress, Jaya's exhaustion finally forced the two to stop. The older woman rested against the wall, not quite standing but not quite sitting, as she caught her breath. Meanwhile, Chandra looked back at the way they had come, the swell of anxiety building up in her chest that left her feeling uncomfortable just standing there.

"We should keep moving." Jaya spoke between gulps of air as she struggled to push herself away from the wall. "Who knows when that sword-wielding maniac will come after _us_ next."

"No..." Chandra spoke up, still looking down the hallway, away from Jaya, who made a frustrated noise.

"What? Do you want us to wait for her to catch up, then?" She asked with a grumble.

"No, I mean, there's no 'us'. There's no 'we', Jaya, because you're not going to stay here." Chandra elaborated, turning just in time to watch Jaya's frown sharpen. "Planeswalk out of here, and leave the rest of this to me."

"I have a mission, Chandra, and I'm not leaving until I see it through-" Jaya began to argue.

"That's just it, though! You joined Kaya because you wanted to make sure I wouldn't involve myself- and you failed, because here I am, and nothing is going to shake me now." Chandra spoke boldly. "You asked me to choose, so I will! I'm going to stay here and help Kaya, and then... I'm going to find a way to save Liliana from the rest of you. I'll stand against the will of Ravnica, against the gatewatch, you- even if it means standing against the people I love, I'm not going to let you kill her!"

"You're making a mistake, Chandra. You're throwing your life away to help a traitor!" Jaya snapped.

"Did Gids make a mistake? Did he throw his life away to save her!?" Chandra shot back. "I'm not letting any of you lay a hand on Liliana! I'm not going to let Gideon's sacrifice be for nothing- I've decided!"

"And it's a decision you'll regret." Jaya warned.

"We'll just have to wait and see, now won't we?" Chandra huffed, folding her arms. "But, what I _do_ know is that this leaves you with no real reason to stick around. This isn't your fight anymore, it's mine- unless, that is, you want to try frying me up right here and now."

The two stared each other down, this time with Chandra's gaze not wavering in the slightest, even under the weight of Jaya's disappointed scorn. She clenched her hands into fists, expecting the worst and preparing herself to respond. All the while, she continued to feel the crushing weight of anxiety that felt like it was crushing her from the inside out.

"After everything that's happened, _this_ is how you're going to let things end?" Jaya finally spoke up.

"After everything that's happened, I'd honestly be more surprised and ashamed if I wound up feeling any different." Chandra was quick to respond. "This is Gatewatch business now- which, if I remember correctly, you were never apart of."

"Hmph..." Jaya grumbled. "I hope you know what you're getting into here."

"Of course I do: I'm protecting my friend."

With one last, withering glower, Jaya pushed herself from off the wall, having no more words of protest to say, and instead having only scorn to offer. Turning her back on her pupil, and without a single parting goodbye, she vanished in a wave of heat and flame, leaving Chandra in the dark to contemplate her next action alone, as well as immediately sigh, as if she had been holding her breath the entire conversation. Her shoulders drooped in exhaustion as she relaxed her strong, confident stance.

Truth be told, Chandra didn't exactly have as concrete a plan as she had let on. She was certain she didn't want Liliana to be killed, but she wasn't sure how to keep such a thing from happening. Her heart still wavered, despite what she had claimed, but she at least was thankful that her acting had been strong enough to convince Jaya otherwise. She'd find a way to keep her friend safe, and find a way to help Kaya, just like she had found a way to force Jaya to leave and get her out of harms way.

"Sorry..." She sighed to the empty space where her mentor had once stood. "I'll make it up to you the next time we cross paths... if we ever do."

Even as her heart pounded against her chest, Chandra turned towards the direction her and Jaya nad come from and ran back towards where Kaya and The Wanderer were. In secret, she had made sure to mark their path, having intended to find her way back to the grand atrium from the start. Her only hope, now, was that she wasn't too late as she took turn after turn, sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her.

Returning to familiar territory, Chandra paused, pressing herself against the wall near the entrance back into the atrium, hand over her mouth as she tried to quietly catch her breath and peer around the corner to assess the situation. Things immediately looked grim, as The Wanderer slowly approached Kaya, who was on the ground and struggling to shuffle away from her opponent. One of her legs bled profusely, dying her pant leg a filthy crimson, and another wound spilled blood down her cheek. The Wanderer, however, stood proudly, without even the slightest scratch on her. Chandra could feel her heart hammering against her ribs as she struggled against her own racing thoughts to try and come up with a solid idea of how to save her friend.

"Any last words before I start to _really_ have some fun with you?" She heard The Wanderer say, and Chandra knew her time for trying to come up with a plan was over- and all she had at her disposal in that moment, was a one-liner in response. At least, it was sure to get the enemy's attention.

"Hey, if you're looking for words, I have a few choice one's right here!" She shouted as she made her entrance. Both The Wanderer and Kaya looked to her, the later in horror, and the former with an almost amused tilt of her head- neither response being what Chandra had been hoping for, leaving her feeling almost too winded to finish. "If you want anywhere near Kaya, you're going to have to go through _me!_ "

"Just when I started to think things were going to get stale- looks like this will be a double execution now." The Wanderer responded first with words that sent a chill all the way down to Chandra's bones, and even more terrifying was the fact that she couldn't bring herself to summon a single flame to chase the chill away.

"Chandra, what are you doing here!? You need to run, or you're going to get killed!" Kaya shouted.

"Not if my flames have anything to say about it!" Chandra said, despite the fact that she couldn't even will herself to summon a puff of smoke, let alone a flame. Was it the exhaustion, the fear, or the fact she couldn't get her brain to stop racing? Everything was piling up, and brewed like a wild storm inside of her that left her feeling disoriented, despite the fact she was planted solidly on the ground.

"That's the thing- weren't you listening before!?" Kaya barked. "This place silences magic! You have no flames, Chandra!"

"I _WHAT!?_ " Chandra practically screamed in response before she saw The Wanderer swing her blade from out of the corner of her eye. The ground at her feet split open where the razor-sharp tip met the marble, but the destruction shot outward in Chandra's direction- a force kicking up chucks of metal and breaking apart the floor below. With a gasp, she leaped out of the way, feeling something cut through her sarong, slicing off a portion of the cloth cleanly. Fearing what would have happened if that had been her flesh, she lost her balance as she landed, stumbling and falling to the ground with hardly even a scrap of grace.

"That's right, pyromancer, in here, you're nothing but a loud little hothead with a temper." The Wanderer chuckled. "Soon to be nothing but a corpse."

"Chandra, get out of here! _Run!_ " Kaya insisted, but even though Chandra could hear her, it was as if she couldn't quite understand her words. Panic quickly set in, and her head chaotically spun as she looked around, as if a solution would just be lying around on the ground somewhere.

Strangely enough, she _did_ manage to find another sword lying within arms reach of where she had landed, so with a frantic gasp, she grasped it and struggled back up onto her feet, clutching the hilt of the weapon in both her hands as tight as she could as she held it out in front of her. She couldn't run. She couldn't use her pyromancy. As far as she saw it, all that was left to do was fight.

"How cute- you're definitely never held a sword like that before, but I at least commend you for taking a stand. It's so much more satisfying to cut people down who try to fight back instead of killing them while they try to run away." The Wanderer said, fully turning in Chandra's direction, and leaving Kaya to try and fail to struggle to her feet. She made a grab for her calf, but she stepped out of her reach as soon as she tried.

"Chandra, run!"

_I can't!_

"Don't just stand there, get out of here!"

_I won't!_

_I don't know what to do! I don't know where I would even go! Forget Liliana-_ I'm _the one who's going to die here! I'm sorry Kaya, Jaya, Liliana..._

_Nissa..._

Strangely enough, the thought of the woman who she held most dear brought her a sense of calm in those seconds that passed as if they were hours. For once, the thought of her didn't fill her with regret, or make her reflect on the last conversation they had had, over and over again. Instead, Chandra thought back to something else as she shut her eyes, despite being in the direct line of imminent danger. There was too much noise inside her head, too much anxiety and sadness, and enough frustration to choke her and her flames even under _normal_ circumstances.

"I want you to imagine a river..."

It had been so long since she had even gotten the time to meditate, but even now, under impossibly heavy stress, Chandra could still remember every bit of it, going through the motions and losing herself in the flow of the river she envisioned in her mind: cool, calming and quiet, just like her beloved whose voice still rang in her ears like a song. She wasn't there- in fact she was somewhere, planes away, possibly still very upset with her- but as Chandra slowed her breathing and loosened her grip on the sword in her hands, it felt almost as if Nissa were right there beside her, guiding her through meditation again, like the first time she had done so all the way back on Kaladesh.

_Be silent._

_Be still._

_You're only breathing._

"Nissa..." Chandra spoke her name aloud, in a voice that was hardly more than a whispered breath, before the familiar sound of The Wanderer's blade swinging in her direction sliced through the air, drawing her from her thoughts that had been quieted to a dull roar.

Her eyes shot open as she quickly side stepped the second attack, this time with much more ease- and then, she charged forward, relocating the sword in her hands and readying herself to use it. She dodged several more strikes of energy that tore apart the floor, pelting her with debris, but her sights were set on The Wanderer herself, no longer concerned with anything else. Her zig-zagging path finally brought her close enough, her opponents blade already swung out from yet another attack she had dodged. With a bellow that came from somewhere deep in her chest, Chandra slashed her own blade at The Wanderer, aiming for nothing in particular, just hoping to slice open or cut off _something._

With incredible speed, The Wanderer flipped her blade in her hand, changing the direction mid-swing and taking a slight step backward as her weapon collided with Chandra's, stopping her attack and sending out a wave of sparks- and, unfortunately for Chandra, something else. She heard the woman chuckle slightly from beneath her mask a split second before an overpowering wave of agony shot up her arms. Her gauntlet on her arm shattered, and blood from freshly opened wounds that appeared up both of her arms sprayed forth, clouding Chandra's vision with red as she screamed in pain. She dropped her blade, the simplest motion of her fingers being enough to send even more spasms of unbearable discomfort up to her shoulders.

" _Impressive!_ " The Wanderer complimented mockingly before Chandra felt her boot collide with her chest, sending her flying backward onto the floor. Her arms, now useless and bleeding, were unable to catch her as she fell, and she felt the sharp thwack of the back of her head slamming against the marble floor. "But, unfortunately, not impressive enough."

Chandra writhed, the vision of calming waters drying up in her mind, replaced only by agony as she tried and failed to right herself. At this point, it even hurt to breath, and each time her arms brushed against anything left her crying out even more.

"Chandra!" Kaya shouted, having since risen, despite her footing being all over the place, as she lunged at the Wanderer with her remaining dagger. She chose to respond simply, stepping out of the way of Kaya's attack and striking hr with a fist instead of slicing her with her blade. Kaya staggered backward and fell to the ground, but was stopped from rising up again by the tip of The Wanderer's blade being pointed right at her chest.

"You'll get your chance to be cut down soon enough, little mouse, but, for now, sit back and watch while I exterminate your friend." She spoke coldly before tuning and setting her sights on Chandra once more, who, even through her agony and terror, could feel the shiver that ran up hr spine as she eyed her like a predator sizing up injured prey.

"N... No..." She managed to croak as tears began to sting her eyes and cloud her vision. "H-help..."

"Goodbye, little pyromancer." The Wanderer laughed. "It's time to extinguish your flame."

Chandra squeezed her eyes shut, wringing tears free from them that rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't call out for anyone, she couldn't even scream. All she could do was cry and brace herself as a familiar face flashed inside of her mind.

_Gideon!_

Instead of one, last surge of pain before the end, Chandra felt something else, like the warm feeling of the sun against her skin. Her heart pounded inside her chest, and her ragged breathing strained her lungs. She could still feel the shooting pain clawing up her arms, and the uncomfortable moistness of her own blood. Despite all of this, she felt strangely safe, and she could see something glowing just behind her tightly shut eyelids. It felt comforting, safe, and more importantly, familiar. She had felt this warmth before, like the safety of a loving embrace. It was a warmth she had expected to never feel again, and a light she was certain had been snuffed out.

"... Gids?" She strained herself to say as she slowly opened her eyes. At first, all she saw was the protective light usually given off by Gideon's invulnerability. However, instead of his kind eyes, wide shoulders and broad chest, she came face to face with something else- with _someone_ else: the last person she expected to see, encircling them both with the last light she expected them to possess.

For a second, Chandra considered the possibility that she was dreaming.

"Li... _Liliana!?_ "

**Liliana Vess**

Everything was a blur, leaving Liliana feeling as if she was still several steps behind her own body, trying to make sense of everything. She had been chasing after Rat who, on top of being the most irritating human in the multiverse come to plague _her_ specifically, was also proving to be the fastest- or, at least, faster than her. Right around the time she had shouted at her to stop acting like a child, and to hand over the spirit gem, she had caught sight of something else besides the glint of the gem still held tightly in Rat's arms, and after that- well, she was still trying to make sense of what happened after that.

It was Chandra, lying prone on the ground in a room off to the side, clearly in pain. At first, she had figured it had been her mind playing tricks on her, but the longer she stared as she slowed herself to a halt, the more it became apparent that she wasn't just seeing things, as strange as they were. She felt a tug she couldn't explain, and a pain in her chest that refused to be ignored. Rat was getting further and further away, and meanwhile, the others who were calling after them were getting closer and closer at her back. However, it had suddenly felt as if none of them even matered- not Rat, Ral, Teyo or even Jace. All that mattered, in that moment, was Chandra, and she couldn't even bear to look away.

She hardly remembered running to her, the brief flash of a drawn blade standing out in her memory before she made it to Chandra's side. Her arms were mangled and bleeding, and she heard a single name struggle its way free from her lips that shook her to her core. In her agony, she called out for the one person who wasn't there, and couldn't possibly come to her aid. She called out for him, like he was still there. Liliana knew for a stone-cold fact that he wasn't, and the fact that she was still alive was proof. Despite that, she couldn't help but feel the comforting warmth of his touch, like she had felt back on Ravnica, as she felt compelled to wrap her arms around her former comrade's shivering form.

Everything was gold now, with shimmering light bordering her vision as she looked up to see the woman who had beaten Chandra to a bloody pulp. Her wide-brimmed hat had been knocked off of her head, and the mask that covered her face had been chipped, exposing her left eye and part of her cheek. Her horribly scarred, burned-looking skin and a single, dull-gray eye could be seen before she covered it with her hand and growled in pain. Her sword fell from her hand and clattered to her feet, missing it's tip that hit the ground behind her a moment after that, burying itself into the marble.

The warm, golden glow distracted Liliana from the furious, agonized curses that flew from her lips as she looked at her hand, following the familiar golden glow that stretched from her finger tips, to her elbow, all the way up her arm to her shoulder and up and down her body. It felt warm, like sunlight, and pulsed, as if the glow had its own heartbeat- possibly the one of the man the protective light had once belonged to.

"Gids...?" Chandra mumbled before looking up, meeting Liliana's gaze with eyes that went wide with surprise. "Li- _Liliana!?_ "

"I guess I can't blame you for expecting someone else..." She said with a nervous shrug, "Honestly, I thought he was here, myself, for a second..." She watched as the light that surrounded them began to fade, leaving behind the warmth that lingered on her skin.

She refused to believe this was Gideon, himself, returning from the afterlife to save them. This was what remained of him, his final gift to her made manifest, and Liliana couldn't bring herself to decide if it made her feel comforted, or if it was worth crying over.

"You little _bitch!_ " The woman shrieked as she reached down and snatched up her sword. Blood was flowing from a deep cut in her forehead, and dripping down from the chin of her mask. "You couldn't just stay on Dominaria and die, could you!?"

"Shit!" Liliana hissed, not exactly sure if she could summon up what had saved her and Chandra's skin a second time. She didn't even know if it was something that _could_ be summoned, or if it just happened free from her own will. She had no idea if it would even work again, or if it was just a one-time deal, left behind from Gideon's self-sacrificing rescue. There was no real way of knowing, and all Liliana could think to do was brace herself as the woman raised her blade.

However, before she even got the chance, something sailed into the room from the upstairs balcony, colliding directly with her head, making a painful-sounding clang as it did so. Liliana recognized the familiar glimmer of Bolas' spirit gem as it bounced off of her skull and flew off in the opposite direction. The woman, however, let out a pained moan before she dropped her sword and her body went limp. To further add to the strange, unexpected turn of events, her body suddenly vanished before it even hit the ground, leaving behind a flash of white light as she disappeared.

"Wh-what the-?" Chandra gasped before a voice called out from the upper floor.

"Holy crap! I was just trying to knock her out, not obliterate her from existence!"

It was Rat, leaning over the railing and looking down at where the woman had been in shock.

"Rat!" Kaya exclaimed, sounding incredibly happy to see her

"Rat?" Chandra questioned.

"Annoying invisible girl who talks too much, long story..." Liliana sighed before the two of them awkwardly locked eyes. Liliana still had Chandra in a protective embrace, and Chandra was still very obviously struggling with being in an incredible amount of pain. She grimaced and hissed through her teeth, a tiny, choked wail clawing its way up her throat. "A-are you okay?"

"... I'm alive, thanks to you, anyway..." Chandra mumbled. "... That _was_ you, right? That wasn't... you know... _someone else?_ "

"Just me, I'm afraid. Sorry to disappoint..." Liliana shrugged before she felt Chandra nuzzle up against her, in lieu of an embrace she was in no condition to give. She cried through her pain, tears immediately soaking into Liliana's clothes. "You were probably hoping it was him, huh?"

"No, I..." Much to Liliana's surprise, Chandra shook her head and looked up at her with a teary smile. "I'm... I'm just happy you're here. I was beginning to think I may not even see you again. I... _missed you._ "

Liliana defensively threw a hand over her face the second she felt her eyes begin to grow moist. Her entire body reacted in a way she was sure it never would again. Her heart ached, but not in an alarming way, and she had to force her lips to keep from smiling.

"What a strange thing to say to me, after I nearly destroyed an entire plane and got someone you cared for killed..." She mumbled through her hand. "Who would miss someone like me? The pain must be getting to you."

"Heh... I'll take that as a 'I missed you, too'." Chandra weakly laughed before flinching again.

"Stop wriggling around like that, you're only hurting yourself more!"

"Chandra!" The both of them turned around just as Ral came running in, followed closely by Teyo and Jace, who looked around the room in confusion.

"Chandra? What happened here?" He asked, looking between them and Kaya, who struggled back up with her hand pressed against her bloody thigh.

"A lot..." She moaned in an exhausted tone as Ral hurried to her side and offer her his shoulder, which she gladly leaned on. "The Wanderer was just here... I'm not too sure where she went, though."

"I banished her with the spirit gem- hit her right in the head with it and she vanished!" Rat elaborated, climbing over the railing.

"Ah, so that's it..." Jace said as he walked over to the spirit gem and picked it up from off the ground. "She mentioned she doesn't actually have control over her planeswalking. She's probably hurdling through the Blind Eternities as we speak, unconscious."

"Liliana saved me!" Chandra suddenly spoke up, shuddering in pain as she did so.

"What did I say about moving around- now show me your arms, if you can. I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be if they're broken." Liliana grumbled, refusing to look up at Jace and, instead, focused on examining the extent of Chandra's injuries.

"... Is she telling the truth?" He asked, sounding skeptical.

"Hmm... doesn't look like it got down to your bones, but it probably got to your muscle. You'll probably need a better healer than me..." Liliana mumbled under her breath, more than obviously ignoring Jace. "I'll have to remove your gauntlet, but it doesn't look like she got to any arteries..."

"There was a golden glow, and The Wanderer's attack bounced off the two of them and was redirected back at her." Kaya explained in her stead, catching Liliana's glare she aimed over her shoulder and meeting it unwavering without so much as a blink. "That was something Gideon Jura was able to do, if I'm not mistaken... _right?_ "

Jace looked down at Liliana in disbelief- she didn't have to look up at him, she knew he was doing it.

"Gideon left her his invulnerability... like a final goodbye." Chandra said, making sure not to speak too loudly this time as she kept herself still.

"Ha! I knew it! I knew you had some good in you! All that talk about being cruel and irredeemable was an act after all!" Rat exclaimed as she nimbly dropped down onto the ground floor with a slight grunt. "I was right!"

"Would you shut up already!?" Liliana groaned before turning her attention back to Chandra's arms and delicately removing her ruined gauntlet. "I... this is just me paying off a debt. She did help me in getting rid of Balzenlok, after all, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking." Rat chuckled. "You know deep down that I was right all along."

Liliana looked up again to scowl at her, only to notice Jace as he held out the spirit gem, freely offering it up to her.

"Here, this belongs to you, right...?" He said with a slightly defeated huff. "You're free to go, if that's really what you want."

"W-what!?" She gasped, shrinking away, as if she expected some sort of trap instead.

"We'll find way to convince the council back on Ravnica to pardon you." Kaya agreed with a nod. "Or, who knows maybe we'll just tell them the truth and use your selfless act of bravery as proof."

"I... I'm not sure what to say." Liliana said, looking back at her reflection in the spirit gem she had yet to even reach out for.

"Maybe a 'thank you' for starters." Ral muttered under his breath.

"It's fine, just take it and go." Jace groaned. "As long as it's not here, I don't care where you run off to."

"I don't think she's going anywhere." A voice spoke, cutting them off before Liliana could take the spirit gem out of Jaces hands. Much to her, and everyone else's surprise, Jaya re-entered the atrium, looking, above all else, outstandingly annoyed. "And neither are any of us."

"Jaya! I thought you left!" Chandra exclaimed,

"So did I, but I just wound up in a different part of this prison of a fortress instead." Jaya huffed. "Liliana being here, now that's an unpleasant surprise, but right now it's hardly the biggest problem on our hands."

"Jaya, what's going on?" Kaya asked, unable to mask the worry in her voice.

"I can tell you _exactly_ what's going on, because we've all lived it before, back on Ravnica." Jaya frowned grimly. "I tried to planeswalk away, and I couldn't. I'm not sure why, or how that bastard, Tezzeret, managed it, but we're trapped here- all of us."

**Ral Zarek**

This was bad.

No, that was an understatement, but as Ral began to panic, 'bad' was the only word he could possibly come up with. Every other descriptor was replaced by the overwhelming urge to scream. After he had survived the hell that Ravnica had been reduced to, he was being forced to live through it again- and this time, he was worlds away from home, and from Tomik.

"You _have_ to be joking!" He practically wheezed, hand wearily placed over his forehead as stress quickly gave way to a headache.

"If you think I would just come here and make up a lie like this to get a rise out of you, be my guest, try and planeswalk." Jaya frowned, crossing her arms. "Good luck finding your way back to us through this godsforsaken maze of a place."

"It couldn't be the Immortal Sun, could it?" Chandra asked. "I knew we should have destroyed it when we got the chance!"

"The Immortal Sun is under heavy guard back on Ravnica, acting alone there's no way that Tezzeret could have stolen it while we were away." Kaya shook her head, while looking incredibly unsure. "But, at this point, what really _could_ it be? It's not like we can run on back and check."

"It hasn't been active the entire time, though, hasn't it?" Teyo asked. "The Wanderer obviously has been traveling back and forth from here, and Rat-" He paused suddenly, turning to Rat who, at that moment, was in the middle of using the situation to her advantage, attempting to snatch the spirit gem right out of Jace's hands. "Rat!"

"What!? What!? I wasn't doing anything, you can't prove I was!" She gasped, throwing her hands up above her head.

"Before, you said you heard the humming coming from where the spirit gem was?" Teyo asked, either having not actually caught what she had been doing, or deciding not to make a comment about it. "If Tezzeret powered on something else in this place, do you think you could hear it, too?"

"Oh, right, that! Of course!" Rat said with a quick nod, dropping one hand down at her waist while she used the other one to cup her ear. "I... I think I hear something, but it's faint, so I can't say for sure."

"Well, we're all stuck in here, the luxury of having time to look around this place has been more or less thrust upon us." Ral groaned. "Even if it's just a hunch, it's all we have to go on right now."

"But-" Chandra spoke up, her voice considerably pained as she kept her injured arms rested carefully in her lap. "- I mean, I'm not completely following, since apparently you all went and made an invisible friend, but I... I don't think I'll be much help. Not that I don't want to, it's just, well..." She shrugged her shoulders, which seemed to be all she could do without causing herself any more pain.

"A lot of us are a little worse off than when we started." Kaya agreed, looking down at her leg. "Perhaps it was a little shortsighted of me not to even bring along a roll of bandages."

"A lot of us were pretty shortsighted..." Ral couldn't help but bitterly agree, remembering the totally dead accumulator acting as nothing more than a useless weight on his back now. Even with their magic back, they weren't exactly functioning at 100%- him included. Even if he were to tag along with Rat and the others, what could he even do? Trapped inside of Tezzeret's inescapable fortress, having spent every last bit of charge before the true challenge reared its ugly head- he hated to admit it, and refused to say it aloud, but he'd hardly be more than dead weight.

"It's fine, you're better off here looking after Chandra anyway than you would be tagging along with us." Liliana pointed out, before turning her gaze to Kaya. "Unless you're ready to fight at your fullest, it would be smart not to go up against Tezzeret, even in a group. If even one of you gets caught off guard, he'll use even the slightest weakness to his advantage."

"But, I'm fine! It's just a little cut, I'll be able to handle myself with just that!" Kaya argued, taking a limping step forward that she clearly regretted.

"Maybe for your usual targets," Jace spoke up, giving her an apologetic frown and shaking his head, "but against Tezzeret, even something like that can be used against you."

"That just leaves the hag and Kaya's innocent little tag along." Liliana noted, looking over both Jaya and Teyo with a less than favorable gaze- clearly not exactly her top picks for going to face off against someone like Tezzeret.

"No." Jace spoke firmly. "If either of them come with us, everyone else is going to be left here totally defensless. We can't have them coming along- no offense."

"Quite alright, this old 'hag' isn't exactly in any hurry to fight alongside someone like _her_." Jaya said with an angry huff, aiming her words in Liliana's direction, who merely turned up her nose.

"And I'd rather Teyo stay behind to protect Mistress Kaya than tag along with me." Rat added.

"But-" Teyo began to protest.

"No buts, you'll both be safer here with them than with us, and I wouldn't have it any other way." She refused to let him speak, taking a hard stance with folded arms.

"Looks like it's just you and me, then, just like old times." Liliana said to Jace with a slight smirk.

"Please don't mention the 'old times'." He groaned. "But... I guess it's not like we haven't done this sort of thing before."

"It's settled then: the rest of you can stay here, and Jace and I will go and figure out what Tezzeret's up to now. Maybe this time, with any luck, we'll actually kill him." Liliana said.

"And I'll be taking that!" Rat added, grabbing the spirit gem and pulling it out of Jace's grasp. "You know, to keep your hands free."

After a brief negotiation of which direction to go, and a hushed conversation between Liliana and Jace that Ral couldn't quite hear, the three of them left the atrium- leaving behind a considerable amount of pressure that still hung in the air, unfortunately. If he didn't do something to distract himself, and fast, Ral was sure he'd be reduced to nothing but a pacing, jabbering mess.

Being sent away on an assassination mission had been one thing, and having to leave Tomik to suffer under the weight of the Orzhov's impressive collection of debts was another thing- not to mention also having to contemplate Ral's proposal on top of all that. Now, their ability to return hinged on a party partially made up of one of the people they had been sent out originally to kill. Ral's brain was starting to resemble an angry hornet's nest, and he'd only been lost in his thoughts a few, short moments.

"Here, let's at least try and dress up your wounds. I'm the farthest thing from a healer, but it's better than letting you sit here and bleed." He sighed as he took a seat across from Chandra and unwrapped the red sash he had coiled around his waist. "I promise, I've cleaned this recently... I think."

"Thanks..." Chandra said with a slight smile, that wavered as he took her arm that was in the worst shape out of the two- the one where her gauntlet had been. Rolling up her sleeve as far as it could go, he tightly wrapped the sash around her bruised and bloody flesh.

"Quite the mess we've gotten ourselves into now, is it?" Jaya commented wearily.

"Hey, let's look on the bright side: it could be a lot worse." Teyo offered up. "We're all alive, so far anyway, and our magic isn't silenced any more. Considering the last time we all got trapped on a plane together, this isn't half bad."

A deep, overwhelming rumble answered him before anyone else could, followed by the exit nearest them getting sealed off by a solid wall of marble that slid upwards from the floor, completely blocking it off. One by one, in a wave, each possible exit after that became sealed as well. Even the view of the balcony was sealed off, leaving the five of them trapped in what looked like a massive tomb lined with marbled walls and swirling silver.

"You were saying?" Jaya grunted in frustration.

" _That's_ not good..." Kaya added before a second, slightly different noise echoed through the chamber. At the far end of the room, a massive hole opened up in the floor, not quite reaching them, thankfully, but presenting its own, uniquely horrible problem as a single, clawed hand reached up from the abyss and slammed against the ground with a thud that felt as if it shook the entire fortress. It was made of solid stone and elegantly crafted etherium, and the one, single hand was large enough to dwarf all of them. "That's _really_ not good!"

Ral couldn't help but agree as he forced his hands under Chandra's arms and forced her up and as far away from the opening in the floor as possible.

This wasn't just bad- _this was worse._


	11. Chapter 11

**Diverging Paths **

**Liliana Vess**

The silence that filled the spaces between the sounds of footsteps was different than before, Liliana noted, as her and Jace followed behind Rat. Before, the tension had almost been like an entire other person, their presence impossible to ignore, but now it was as if the pressure had been lifted, and it left her feeling confused. She had grown used to the pressure, after all, the constant reminder that what little trust she had managed to earn had died along with Nicol Bolas- along with _Gideon_. She was used to not being trusted, even when she was a member of the Gatewatch: Nissa's underlying disdain, Chandra's uncertainty, Jace's confusion and Gideon's constant need to try and wave it all away and convince them all that she wasn't deserving of any of those things. Silence that wasn't threatening to crush either of them was new, and more importantly _unfamiliar._

She gazed down at her hand, looking it over from the tips of her fingers and into her palm as she turned it over, searching for any traces of the radiant, protective light that had saved her and Chandra before- another new, unfamiliar thing she had to account for. She wished Gideon were there, at least so that he could answer all of the questions swimming about in her head that she knew that Jace- and definitely Rat- weren't the least bit capable of answering. He could explain to her how his invulnerability worked, where it was drawn from, as well as the flurry of emotions still left behind in the wake of the golden glow that left her own motives- which had been solid and straightforward before- muddy and unclear.

"What are you doing?" The Raven Man's voice hissed inside of her mind, being the only familiar thing she could focus on, much to her chagrin. "This is pointless, take the spirit gem and find your way out of this place- leave the silly acts of heroics to these fools."

She could _feel_ him there, lingering in her blind spot, but she held back a grimace, as well as the need to respond to him, as she continued walking. Regardless of her own uncertainty about things, she at least knew that going against whatever the Raven Man had to say was usually a safe bet. His demands for her to take what was hers and abandon the group only spurred her forward.

"What do you think this is going to accomplish, Liliana? You're walking into a trap- and I don't just mean in regards to Tezzeret, you know deep down in your heart that I'm not." He continued, sounding like he was leaning over her shoulder and snarling right into her ear, forcing her to bite her lip and fight against the urge to shiver uncomfortably. "Their plan to try and persuade the people of Ravnica to take back that death sentence of yours will fail, and by then, you'll have served yourself to them on a silver platter. You should have stayed behind on Dominaria! You should have killed that rodent of a girl and her friends. You should have let Jace to bleed out! You shouldn't have rescued Chandra!"

 _And you have no right to give me orders_ , Liliana bitterly thought to herself, the words not feeling as satisfying keeping them inside her head. She would have preferred to shout at the specter that had haunted her for longer than her demons and Nicol Bolas had. What did he know, anyway?

"Oh, I know quite a bit." He responded to her thoughts, his words growing sharper, mingling with the dark whispers of the Onakke that grew louder the more frustrated she became. For once, she actually wished that they could help with what she wanted, but she knew that whoever or _whatever_ the Raven Man truly was, he couldn't be dealt with by the Chain Veil. "It's that damned Gideon Jura, still in your head even after he threw his life away for you. You think that all of these acts of kindness will possibly bring your closure? Regardless of how you explain it away to yourself, all this will do is bring you the death you've managed to avoid for so long."

_Shut up..._

"All that talk of your life being yours to control, when in reality you're just being strung along by someone else, just like always. Just because it's not demons, that insufferable dragon, or someone that's even alive, doesn't mean that doing what Gideon Jura would want you to do won't lead you to utter ruin."

_Shut up!_

"How much suffering are you willing to put yourself through before you realize, Liliana?" The Raven Man questioned in a cruel tone. "I am the only ally you'll ever have!"

Much to Liliana's surprise, she felt as if a cold hand suddenly gripped her wrist, chasing away the warmth left behind from the miraculous golden glow and chilling her down to the bone. It felt real, almost painfully so, to the point where she felt the very fingernails of whoever had grabbed her dig into her skin. She couldn't keep her conflict strictly internal any longer, as a horrified gasp struggled out of her mouth and she jerked her hand away and held it close. With a sharp turn of her head, she looked over her shoulder... but saw nothing at all, aside from the dark hallway they had just come from.

"Liliana?" Jace's voice cut through the silence, and she regrettably jumped just from hearing it. Inwardly cursing herself, she slowly turned back to him as she struggled to steady her breathing before she met his eyes. "Is... everything alright?"

"I just... thought I..." She began to explain before giving up entirely with a quick shake of her head. "It's nothing, forget it."

"But-"

"I'd be more worried about myself if I were you, actually." She quickly added, diverting the conversation, as well as her own focus, from what had just happened as she looked him up and down with a quick, disapproving flick of her eyes. "What I said back there with everyone was extended to you, but you went right ahead and just preached about what Tezzeret is capable of. Yet, here you are, a good, strong shove away from being in critical condition, yourself."

"I'm fine, I told you-" Jace began to protest before Liliana reached out and, with a single index finger, ran it up the length of his side, right over his injury that had been cleverly hidden from view by his cloak. He flinched, curling forward in a defensive manner while biting back a moan of discomfort.

"Oh yes, that's the picture of peak performance right there, if I've ever seen it." Liliana said with a sarcastic nod of her head.

"Is Mister Beleren going to be alright?" Rat piped up, joining them to see what was wrong. She still held the spirit gem under her arm, instinctively holding it away from Liliana and tightening her grip on it now that she was within arms reach.

"Mister Beleren should be fine, so long as he doesn't attempt to do anything more strenuous than a slight jog." She explained harshly. "All of the treatment I did was meant to stabilize his condition and numb the pain- its not a substitute for the medical care he _actually_ needs."

"I'll just stick to illusions then." Jace grumbled.

"What, while this scrawny little invisible half-pint and I do all the hard work?" She bit back, a little harsher than she had originally meant to.

"I wasn't exactly expecting us to be down this many people- sorry I can only read minds and can't tell the future!" He said with a frustrated frown.

"You just don't trust me to handle Tezzeret on my own."

"Of course I don't! I wouldn't trust you with making a cup of coffee, let alone taking down the mastermind behind this whole mess!" Jace snapped- and just like that, the old, familiar tension returned. However, despite it being something she was used to, Liliana couldn't bring herself to be happy about its return. She hadn't even meant for things to suddenly escalate the way they had- it had just happened, as simple as breathing.

"Even after all you've done so far, he still doesn't trust you." The Raven Man spoke up again, sounding proud of the way things were going. "Who's to say the others don't feel the same way? No matter what you do, helping them will change nothing, and your life will be more and more on the line the longer you try and make them feel otherwise."

"Stop talking..." Liliana muttered before realizing she had spoken aloud. "I-I mean... no, actually, that works. Shut up, nothing good ever comes from any of this."

"Any of what?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know... _this_." Liliana attempted to explain, motioning between the both of them several times, fanning the air in front of her. "The whole 'us' thing."

"The 'us' thing?" He parroted, but with a bit more exhausted annoyance, his eyebrow traveling even further up his forehead as his expression intensified.

"You know what I'm talking about, there's no way you don't feel it, too, so don't give me that look." She frowned. "Everything we do is going to be tainted by what's happened in the past. It's going to bubble up, no matter what we're trying to accomplish together, no matter what happens. But, no matter what I do, I can't wish for things to be different, either..."

"What are you saying?" Jace's words were less harsh than before, but still bore an edge that stung.

"I'm saying that I'm not doing this to get you to trust me! I'm not doing this because think I can fall back into your good graces." Liliana explained, although she had no idea, at that point, if she was arguing with Jace or with the Raven Man- or, with herself.

"Then why _are_ you doing this?"

"Because I want to... that's all." Liliana came to her conclusion simply, in a way that seemed to catch even her off guard as she turned it over again and again in her mind. "No matter who you are... who _we_ are, this is just something I want to do... for myself."

"And where will that leave you once all of this is over?" He asked.

Liliana paused, looking down a the marble floor apprehensively. For once, there wasn't a grand scheme playing in her mind, lying out all of her next possible moves and presenting everyone involved simply as pieces. She didn't have anything set up that would lead her to claiming checkmate- hells, this wasn't even a game at all. There was no plan, there was no drawn out plot at the ready this time, but oddly enough, the lack of not having anything in place didn't fill her with dread.

"I don't know... all that matters is what I'm doing right now. I can't dwell on the past, or even consider what my future holds, it's only going to distract me." She said, giving special attention to each word that was slowly drawn out of her mouth. "And, right now, we need to come up with a plan that doesn't involve you tripping and bleeding out all over the ground."

"I-I have a plan. I've had one for a while, actually- from the start." Rat spoke up, but despite what she said, the look on her face was overwhelmingly grim. She reached behind her back, surprisingly pulling out a dagger she had managed to hide on her person. However, before either of them could ask where she had been hiding it, or what her plan even was, she turned the blade on them, pointing the tip in their direction as she gripped the handle tight. "... And, I'm sorry."

**Rat**

The room where Tezzeret would be waiting was at the top of the tallest spire of his fortress- Rat knew because she had been there once before, and was greeted with the same scenery that had left her in shocked, almost terified awe the first time. Now it all just made her stomach turn, just like the man himself.

The shape of the room formed a perfect circle, its walls lined with windows that filled the place with natural light, unlike most of the fortress that was bathed in shadow and sealed completely shut. Outside, Rat could see a vast, sprawling ocean of silver sand- a barren, glittering wasteland that was the exact opposite of the plane she had frst come from. It was the type of view that could make a person feel truly, horribly small and alone- at least, smaller and more alone than how Rat normally felt. However, she wasn't alone in the slightest as she looked across the floor, to the opposite end of the room, where Tezzeret stood. His back was turned to her while he worked on maintaining a complex, half-built-looking artifact that sputtered out short spurts of sparks.

"Not the most impressive-looking invention, I know, but what it accomplishes far-outweighs the need for aesthetics." He spoke up, addressing Rat without even bothering to peer over his shoulder- which was quite alright with her. Just the view of his back alone made her uncomfortable, his cold eyes and his sickeningly smug grin were in a total league of their own when it came to sending shivers up her spine. "It's a very hard pill to swallow, that I would never be able to create something as impressive as the Immortal Sun in my lifetime, but something like this, that performs at a significantly smaller scale, is more than a sufficient work of genius on its own. Any planeswalker that steps inside these walls is trapped- something they'll only ever discover once it's too late..."

He finally turned around after nodding proudly at his creation, giving Rat a wide smirk that caused her to visibly convulse she shuddered so hard.

"Of course, this trap of mine wouldn't have been half as effective without your help, my dear rodent."

"My name's Rat, not 'my dear rident'. It shouldn't exactly be the hardest thing for a big, fat genius to remember." She grumbled, unable to meet his eyes, or even focus on his toothy grin. She settled on looking down at the smoldering planar bridge that glowed inside his chest, all heated up and ready to grant him his first ticket out of the otherwise inescapable fortress.

"Of course, how rude of me..." Tezzeret said with a slight roll of his eyes. "And, speaking of manners: where are mine? It's quite the surprise to find _you_ here, but more than that, it's a treat, especially under these circumstances... Liliana."

Miss Liliana stood in front of Rat, held at knifepoint, as well as looking bruised and battered to the point where she fought against the agony of her wounds in order to stay conscious. Drops of blood left small pools forming at her feet, and she clutched at one of her arms that was clearly broken. She opened her quivering lips to speak, but all the escaped her was a strained gasp as her feet were taken out from under her by a swift kick to the inside of her knee from Rat. Now kneeling on the floor, she was just at the right height for the shorter girl to grab her by the head and pull it back, forcing her to expose her neck. She flinched as the cold edge of the blade was pressed against her skin, and Rat had to restrain herself from the natural reflex to apologize.

"You know, I was positive Jace was with you as well." Tezzeret mentioned as he approached, an amused gleam in his eyes. "Don't tell me he managed to escape..."

"His corpse is back the way we came." Rat muttered, looking none too happy about admitting what had happened. "He was already horribly injured when he came here, I probably would have had more of a difficult time with him if it weren't for that. Still, even for someone like Mister Beleren, it's difficult to fight back against an opponent you can't even see..." Her tone held not even a drop of pride over her victory, and instead she hung her head in shame.

"Don't look so sad- after all, like I promised, the spirit gem is all yours." He said, looking down at the precious orb now lying at Rat's feet. "With that, your Curse of Insignificance will be lifted, and your loved ones will be able to see you, just like any other person. After all those years of living as nothing more than a shadow, overcoming that should be worth a little spilled blood."

"Nng..." Miss Liliana's pained grunt broke through their conversation.

"I haven't forgotten about you- how could I continue to ignore such an esteemed guest." Tezzeret chuckled, his cruel gaze falling on her. "The things I could do to you... Nicol Bolas would seem like a kind benefactor in comparison. It's a shame I couldn't be the one to kill Jace, but I can sate myself with the torture I'll put you through. And, once I tire of you, the Chain Veil will be a grand consolation prize, indeed."

"You're... insane..." She wheezed.

"Oh, I'm poised to be all that and more. I'm going to send a message to the rest of your little club of heros, that I am not a man to be trifled with, by thinning out your ranks." Tezzeret boasted. "Nicol Bolas may have had a hand in cutting off the head, but the body can still walk, so removing a vital limb or two will be more than necessary."

"I... I'm n..." She mumbled in a voice that was difficult for even Rat to hear.

"What was that? If you don't mind having your throat sliced open, of course, you'll have to speak up." Tezzeret taunted.

"I'm not... a member of the Gatewatch..." She spoke again, her voice suddenly growing clearer and more intense, rising from a weak, quiet mutter to a powerful, furious shout. "I'm just the wrong woman to piss off!"

" _What!?_ " Tezzeret snapped, as Miss Liliana's injuries vanished one by one, and the blood at her feet evaporated.

"Now!" She shouted, giving the signal to Rat, who pulled the knife away from her throat and, instead, hurled it at Tezzeret with all of her might. Not that might was going to do much, at least from her anyway, but years of target practice to pass the time left her with an aim she was certain was brag-worthy across the multiverse. So, while the blade didn't pierce all the way through, it hit its mark, burying itself into Tezzeret's armored chest, right above where the planar bridge was pulsing.

"You little-!" He gasped, appearing ready to draw his own weapon and launch a counter attack before he stopped in his tracks. His jaw tightened as he appeared to struggle where he stood, unable to even move his arm that was still reaching behind his back with fingers wildly grasping at a weapon he couldn't quite grab. Only when a look of horrified realization overcame his features did he stop struggling, appearing to realize what was going on before the third member of Rat's party entered the room. "...No!"

"I told you I would be able to do this much, at least." Mister Beleren said proudly as he limped in as well, his eyes glowing a brilliant blue as he kept his focus locked on Tezzeret. "It's been years, but I still know his mind well enough to be able to get inside and manipulate some things. Good work keeping him distracted."

"Did it really have to involve kicking me, though?" Miss Liliana groaned as she stood up, giving the back of her knee a careful rub.

"I just wanted to make sure we were extra believable, and it obviously sold the whole act, I think." Rat explained as she snatched the spirit gem right back up. "Plus, after all the times you told me to shut up and called me names, I think I more than deserved to at least get one good jab in."

"Well, trust me that, if you ever do something like that again, I'll make sure the foot that kicked me rots right off of your bones." Miss Liliana threatened, but it hardly had the bite the words called for, leaving them to roll off Rat as if they were nothing. Clearly, her focus wasn't on sounding threatening, and instead it was directed at the man still held completely at their mercy.

Her eyes were those of a woman who had killed before, and was more than alright to kill again. For the first time, Rat looked upon her with nothing but fear. She internally made a note that there would, indeed, be no more kicking her for any reason.

"How very unfortunate: you finally got your taste of freedom, only for you to wind up getting held at the mercy of someone else again." Miss Liliana mocked Tezzeret as she approached. "Unlike with Nicol Bolas, though, I hardly see any reason to keep you alive."

Once she had drawn close enough, she lifted her foot with a furious grunt and kicked the handle of the dagger still buried in his chest. The blade budged slightly, scraping loudly against the metal with a shrill screech, growing that much closer to piercing the planar bridge. Tezzeret grunted in surprise, looking down wide-eyed at the weapon that threatened to destroy him.

"How kind of you, though, to want to devote the time to even torture me. I wouldn't have the patience for something like that." She continued, kicking the handle a second time and driving the blade in even more. "Just feel grateful that I'm taking the time to actually kill you myself. Not a lot of people get the pleasure."

After a third kick, he finally found the will to speak, but with a strange air of confidence. The grin that slowly spread from cheek to cheek was not that of a man facing down his own demise. Instead, it was the sickening smile of a villain who had achieved his ill-earned victory.

"Do you really think you've won?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure I'm only a few more, good kicks away." Miss Liliana growled.

"Maybe you should take your time after all, since, if you rush into things..." He paused, just as the view from one of the windows changed, becoming a look into somewhere else entirely. "... You'll be set to take a heavy loss with that cheep victory."

What Rat saw made her blood run cold, and feeling like the ground was crumbling beneath her feet. Projected onto the glass was a familiar glimpse into the atrium they had just come from, but the tides had drastically turned. A massive gargoyle had appeared, its form drenching the entire room in almost complete darkness. The only source of light, now, was the faint glimmer of Teyo's shield that covered him and the others like a dome, but it was clear by the flickering and shifting of its shape, that it wasn't going to hold for long. Each time the gargoyle's massive, stone hand slammed against Teyo's wavering defense, he cried out in agony himself, as if he were the one being struck.

"Teyo!" Rat cried, even though she was sure the her voice tragically could not reach him. She felt a wave of crippling anxiety fill her, growing more and more intense each time she heard Teyo cry out.

"Right now, Brokk is merely playing with your friends... they're in no immediate danger, at least... not yet anyway." Tezzeret sneered. "The second you vanquish me, he'll be given the command to slaughter them all! No means of escape, no way to rescue them in time- the only way to save them is to spare me... my life, for their lives."

"He's lying!" Mister Beleren insisted. "Don't listen to him!"

"But... Teyo... Mistress Kaya..." Rat stammered, clutching the spirit gem. She finally held in her hands the solution to her lifelong curse. She had a way to reunite with Hekara, to make her see her again! However, in the face of losing both Teyo and Mistress Kaya, the spirit gem felt as insignificant as an armful of dry, unusable dirt. She turned to Mister Beleren, tears welling up in her eyes. "We can't risk it! We just can't!"

"I'm sure the others can hold their own, even if Tezzeret is-" He began to protest, but a protest wasn't what Rat was hoping for. She reached out and grabbed him furiously by the cloak, yanking him towards her.

"You don't know that!" She shouted. "I'm not going to put the people I care about in danger, for any reason, you hear me?! It's not worth it!"

"We won't get another chance like this again!" He insisted. "As a member of the Gatewatch, it's my duty to-!"

"Shut up!" Surprisingly, before Rat cold continue to argue, Miss Liliana raised her voice, cutting the both of them off. She was no longer facing Tezzeret, and instead was staring the both of them down, a conflicted frown on her face. It was clear she wasn't quite completely at peace with what she was saying, but a conviction that shown in her eyes drove her on. "Let him go, Jace!"

"Liliana, we can't!"

"You can and you will!" She snapped back, her words sharp and quick. "You say you're a Gatewatch member, like you owe it to the multiverse to kill Tezzeret, no matter the cost... but what about them?!" She motioned toward the window, where they could see Teyo struggling to keep his shied up. "They're apart of the multiverse, too, aren't they?"

"But-"

" _Aren't they!?_ " She repeated herself, practically screaming her words for emphasis. "This isn't what I want... if it were up to me and only me, I'd wring this bastard's neck... but, this is what Gideon would want. He wouldn't want you risking their lives, just to get your revenge."

"This... this isn't for revenge!" Mister Beleren insisted.

"Think of the people who are still alive, Jace, and consider keeping them that way." She continued, not buying his words for even a moment. "Stop this, and let the mad coward be on his way." She looked over her shoulder, eyeing Tezzeret disdainfully.

"Please..." Rat added tearfully. "They're your friends, too... aren't they?"

Mister Beleren looked back at the projection, his lips forming an incredibly tight line. Rat was no mind reader, but it didn't even take that to know that he was struggling under the quickly mounting pressure to come up with an answer. Rat, meanwhile, was ready to employ whatever means were necessary if his decision put her friends in harms way. She had already felt the pains of losing one friend, that had been strong enough to send her sailing through the Blind Eternities, she refused to feel that same thing again, but two-fold! If worse cane to worse, she always had a second dagger...

"It's what Gideon would want..." She heard him whisper to himself under his breath before the brilliant glow faded from his eyes and the tension left his entire form. His shoulders slumped and he bowed his head, releasing a defeated sigh. He repeated those words to himself again, nodding his head in agreement with them, albeit while looking absolutely spent. "It's what Gideon would want..."

Tezzeret made a sudden noise of relief as he staggered back, given back the use of his limbs. The first thing he did was immediately summon a portal using the planar bridge, revealing yet another plane that Rat was unfamiliar with- no surprises there. Judging by the bleak landscape covered in snow that blew in from the portal and chilled the air around them, and the jagged mountains that she could see, it didn't seem like the place worth taking a visit to.

"You have... my thanks..." Tezzeret huffed, as if her were regaining the control of his own lungs as well. He made a move, as if he intended to simply step through the portal and take his leave, but there was something in his eyes, as he turned, that set Rat on edge, like realizing only a moment too late that one had stepped in the middle of a soon-to-be Gruul turf war. "... For continuing to be nothing but a soft-headed fool!"

He spun back around with incredible speed, catching Miss Liliana off guard as he reached behind him and successfully drew his own weapon. He flashed her and the rest of them a sickening grin as he moved to make a fatal blow, and Rat instinctively turned her head, too afraid to watch, hardly given any time to cry out. None of them had time.

Strangely enough, though, it was Tezzeret who raised his voice, a bellow of surprise escaping him. Rat looked up, turning just in time to see his silvery blade come crashing to the floor nearby, clattering noisily. Much to her surprise, a second object followed shortly after, joining the weapon on the ground in a limp heap. She bristled in horror, recognizing the entirely of Tezzeret's twisted mental arm, all the way to the shoulder. Even though it was an artificial limb, she still felt like she was going to be sick. With a shiver and gasp she turned away, instead looking to focus on the man, himself, to see what left him down an entire arm.

Someone else had joined Tezzeret and Miss Liliana, standing between them, their form silhouetted against the view through the portal. The gleam of their blade caught her eye first, followed by the familiar shape of tendrils that fluttered elegantly in the breeze. It seemed almost too good to be true, but it seemed as if Mister Beleren accepted the miraculous appearance before Rat even could, as he called out in overwhelmed excitement,

"Vraska!"

"I'm here to finish what I started!" She snarled before she struck out and kicked Tezzeret in the chest, right where Rat's dagger was still buried. The metal of Tezzeret's armor shrieked loudly in protest, as he gave a single, violent shudder and nothing more. No words of surprise, no last laugh, not even a cry of pain, just a shiver and a grunt before he was sent flying backward, into the portal that snapped closed hardly even a second after, leaving behind only a few remaining snowflakes that danced through the air and onto the ground.

"Sorry, I cut it pretty close there didn't I-AAAH!" Queen Vraska's apology became an exclamation of surprise as Mister Beleren, who made it across the room with mind-boggling speed, rushed to her side and threw his arms around her. He held her in a manner that, to call it desperate would be an understatement, with his face buried between her neck and her shoulder.

"You're alive!" He cried. Rat could practically hear his tears. "Thank the gods, you're alive!"

"Ow! Ow, Jace, not so tight!" She gasped, to which he obeyed with an over-exaggerated amount of enthusiasm, putting an arms-length between them that he more than obviously wanted oh-so-desperately to close.

"Sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine I get it. I'm just a little tender- getting over a stab wound and all." She assured him with a light flinch.

"Oh, I know that feeling." He agreed, pausing to sniffle and to allow a single sob to break through his defenses. "I'm... so relieved you're alive..."

"I know."

"... And... I'm sorry."

"I know." Queen Vraska's voice was surprisingly warm, taking on a tone that made even Rat blush, watching as she reached out and cupped Mister Beleren's face delicately in her hands. Her brilliant eyes, that could be so menacing and deadly at times, had grown moist as her gaze softened. "And... I'm sorry, too."

"No, but I really am-!" Mister Beleren attempted to emphasize before Queen Vraska shushed him, causing his whole body to go rigid for a brief second.

"I know." She repeated again. "And, so long as you promise not to _any_ of that again, I accept your apology."

"Y-you-?"

"A-hem!" Miss Liliana loudly cleared her throat, rudely breaking the two of them out of the moment, as well as Rat, who had been watching in an embarrassingly captivated way. Their reunion had proved to be more enthralling than even the most violently spectacular Rakdos troupe performance. "This is all very touching, and I hate to break up the honeymoon, but could we do this another time? That gargoyle of Tezzeret's is still set to reduce the others downstairs into human jam, if you recall!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Queen Vraska said, eyeing Miss Liliana with a look that was twinged with mistrust. "I didn't exactly come here by myself, after all."

**Chandra Nalaar**

The sensation of the gigantic, stone monster looming above them striking Teyo's shield shook Chandra to her very core. With every powerful slam, she could see the whole, glittering dome agonizingly pulse, something that echoed Teyo's strained cries and exhausted groans of effort. Hearing him, and seeing him break out into a thick sweat made her wish she could do anything besides cower. She wished any of them could do anything, but not even Jaya's flames had phased the beast that threatened to crush them. All they had left- the only thing keeping them alive at that point- was Teyo.

"We have to do something!" Ral groaned after all of them flinched again from yet another deflected attack.

"Hey, if you have any suggestions, Mister-dead-batteries, the floor is yours!" Chandra snapped, her stress warping and becoming frustration.

"I'm not the one who went and busted up both of her arms!" Ral snarled back. "And, like I told you, I used up all of my charge to fix the whole silenced magic issue, so your welcome!"

"Well right now we have a bit of a 'going to get smashed to smithereens' issue, so forgive me for not heaping on the praise!" Chandra said with a burst of anger.

"Could you both save your bickering for when we're not facing down the threat of death!" Jaya cut in sharply.

"Teyo, hang in there..." Kaya, surprisingly, stayed completely out of the argument as she rested a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I-I'm trying..." He stammered weakly, his bucking knees struggling to keep him upright. "I just need to... keep my focus."

"If it's anything like these shields, I don't think that's going to keep for very long." Jaya critically noted.

"Don't say that!" Kaya finally raised her voice in Teyo's defense, just as yet another attack slammed against them- although, this time, it came from the side instead of right on top of them.

The sudden change of direction must have caught Teyo off guard, as the whole dome shifted violently before, much to Chandra's horror, shattering to bits. The last, straggling remnants spared them all from getting swatted by the gargoyle, as well, but the shock still sent them all flying to the side, scattering away from one another. Chandra, in particular, landed on both of her arms in just the wrong way, sending wave after wave of pain rocketing up from her fingers to her shoulders, and also hard enough to knock the wind out of her, reducing her cries of pain to nothing more than choked gasps. As she skid to a halt, the sash that Ral had kindly wrapped around one of her arms came unraveled, and was left lying limply on the ground in her wake.

"Gh... hah..." She attempted to speak and call out to the others once she came to a stop, but moans and half-cries were all she could manage as she rolled onto her back with a pained shudder. Her vision swam from the injury, reducing all that she saw to nothing but shifting shapes and shadows at first. There was no way she could possibly get out of the way from whatever attack was inevitably headed their way- even if she could see straight, she was in too much agony to even pick herself up. All she could do was feebly grunt as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Ni...ssa..."

The gravelly growls of the monster that loomed above her suddenly changed, beginning to sound irritated instead of threatening, and as Chandra's vision slowly cleared, she was able to make out that its attention had shifted elsewhere, it's glowing eyes no longer fixed on its prey lying prone at its feet. Instead, its focus was somewhere above, as it shifted its giant bolder of a head from side to side, swatting at something in the air. She squinted, trying her hardest to get a better look at... a bird? How had a bird gotten inside when they couldn't even get out?

What followed only rose more questions, leaving the ones before totally unanswred, as something whistled through the air and plunged into the ground at the unsuspecting monster's feet: an arrow? Last she had checked, none of the others had brought along arrows, or else they probably would have tried using them by then, so where...?

As if to attempt to answer her rapidly mounting queries, a mighty, phantasmal green dragon reared its head from out of the ground where the arrow had struck, the rest of its body and wings blooming out from behind it. With a savage roar, the powerful spirit creature leaped from where it sprouted into being, forcing the surprised gargoyle back. A second later, one of the walls that had been erected to keep them trapped inside the atrium was smashed to bits, chucks of marble and clouds of dust scattering to reveal a furious dinosaur crashing through.

"There's no way they're not in here! This has to be the place!" A familiar voice could be heard over the chaos. "Ral! Chandra!"

"S-Saheeli?" Chandra muttered as she strained herself to sit up in spite of the pain.

There, riding on the back of a dinosaur that shook bits of rock from off its head, were Saheeli and Huatli, the later riding the creature like it was nothing while the former desperately clung to keep from being jostled off. In a brilliant emerald flash, Vivien Reid also appeared beside them, a second arrow cocked and at the ready.

"Everyone get out of the way!" She called out to the rest of them. "This is going to get rough!"

"But how did you-?" Before Chandra could finish asking, a dark, imposing shadow was cast right above her, and she looked up just in time to see the gargoyal stagger in her direction, with one of its feet a split second away from crushing her. With no hope of escape, all Chandra could do was cower and shut her eyes, hoping that the end wouldn't come as painfully as she feared it would.

"Oh no you don't!"

A voice that rang in Chandra's ears like a comfortingly familiar song reached her over all of the other commotion. Hearing it just once was enough to make Chandra tear up as her eyes snapped open to see a familiar green cape fluttering in her vision.

Strong, thick vines had burst out of the ground all around them, and had wrapped around the stone foot of the gargoyle, holding it in place while also digging into the very material it was made off, destroying the appendage from the inside out and reducing it to nothing but harmless rocks. At the center of it all, watching her handiwork, was Nissa, standing protectively in front of Chandra. Her timing was so perfect, and the familiar, natural beauty of the woman she loved was such a welcome sight, she couldn't help but wonder if, perhaps, this was all just a final, dying hallucination of her's.

"N... Nissa!" She gasped before the elf turned around to face her, oddly looking just as surprised- or, maybe she was nervous. The last time they had seen one another, it had been during a fight after all. "Is that... really you?"

"Chandra!" Nissa cried as she dropped down to her knees and carefully embraced her, as if she knew that, if she squeezed too hard, it would cause her pain. Chandra, on the other hand, regretted she could hardly even budge her arms- she wanted to hold her beloved companion do badly, to feelevery inch of her soothing warmth, after what felt like an agonizing eternity. "Chandra! Oh, Chandra!"

Hearing Nissa say her name over and over again each time felt like an individual blessing that chased away her pain and her fear, and left her with nothing but comfort as she nuzzled her back, taking in her scent. She smelled like gardening, and the refreshing smell of rain. She smelled like home.

"Chandra, I'm so sorry, I... The way I left..." Nissa continued, pulling away so that she could look her in the eyes as she apologized, through tears that no doubt matched Chandra's. "... You didn't deserve that."

" _You're_ sorry? I'm the one who should be sorry!" Chandra exclaimed as a warm lump began to expand in her throat. "I said so many careless things- I never think before I speak, I'm so stupid..."

"You're not stupid!" Nissa insisted, resting her hands firmly on her shoulders. "You're just new at this- we both are. We're both going to make mistakes... but that's a normal thing, right?"

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Chandra weakly chuckled, starting to bow her head before Nissa reached out and scooped her up by the chin, forcing her to lift it back up and look at her. For a second, she was overwhelmed, getting lost in the endless, vivid green of her eyes. "...huh?"

"Chandra." Nissa spoke strongly, and with purpose, hardly even blinking as she continued. "I'm not going anywhere. No matter how far apart we are, or how many planes we are away from each other, I'm not going anywhere..." She reached down with one of her hands, her fingers just barely tracing over Chandra's chest, right over her heart that beat like it demanded to be free from her chest cavity. "... because I'll always be right here."

"And I- oh." Chandra cut herself off, feeling her cheeks grow warm. "... I'd love to return the sentiment, but my arms are little useless right now, so let's just say that I-"

"Here." Without a second to even think, Nissa carefully took her by one of the hands and helped guide it to her own chest. "You'll always be here."

Chandra felt as if she were about to pass out, and this time it wasn't because of the pain.

"Can you feel my heart- it's pounding." Nissa said with a nervous, breathy chuckle. Indeed, Chandra could feel every thump reverberate against her finger tips.

"Mine, too." Chandra laughed as well, Nissa's tiny smile that tugged at her lips bringing out her own. How long had it been since she had genuinely smiled like this? How many endless days and nights had passed since her heart had felt so completely full? "... Nissa?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Chandra didn't have to ask- neither of them had to say a single word as they leaned in close, with Nissa still keeping Chandra's hand pressed against her chest. In that moment, as their lips met, no one in the room- on that plane, or in the whole, sprawling multiverse- mattered. All that remained was Chandra, the woman she loved, and the tender heat of their lips locked together in a kiss.

**Liliana Vess**

Liliana and the others hadn't so much found the fortress' exit as much as they had made one. The group of them, which was now several people larger, all stumbled out of a fresh hole made in the wall with the help of both Huatli and Vivien Reid, their exhaustion more than showing. Their slow, low-energy retreat only got most of them as far as to the bottom of the silver-sand dune that the structure had been built upon before they chose to sit and take in their freedom from the ground.

Liliana, on the other hand, chose to hang back, keeping watch over the others as they made their way out while she lingered at the hole they had burst from. Kaya leaned on Ral's shoulder, while Jaya leaned on Teyo. Huatli, Saheeli and Nissa were all making a fuss over Chandra, although it was unclear if it was about her arms, or something else that had happened while she had been away. Vivian Reid led the group, casting a wide look out across the empty, silver-tinted horizon. Jace and Vraska lingered close, talking and smiling while she inspected his wounds. They all seemed so close, brought together by their ordeal... and she was content with knowing that there was no space anywhere, within their group, where she could possibly fit.

"Miss Liliana, aren't you coming?" Liliana pulled her attention back as she turned to look down at Rat, who was starting back at her expectantly.

"No, actually," she admitted without the slightest bit of melancholy, "I was just thinking I should be taking my leave."

"But... _why?_ " Rat sounded shocked and, more importantly, sad- so much that it managed to catch Liliana off-guard.

"I don't have to run all of my decision-making processes through you, you know?" She grumbled, but despite what she said, she continued to talk, knowing the young girl enough at that point to know that "it's none of your business" was not and probably never would be in her vocabulary. "It's better this way- I'm better off on my own and, face it, they're much better without me hanging around." Her gaze lingered on Jace, who smiled back at Vraska genuinely, without the slightest hint that he was forcing himself. "... Much better off."

"You don't know that for sure, though!" Rat persisted, not that Liliana was at all surprised.

"And you do?" Liliana asked with an annoyed frown before shaking off her irritation. "You don't even know me- they don't even really know me. Sometimes, it's like _I_ don't even know me, and I feel like I should take care of that first. Somewhere down the line, I feel I lost track of that. I think I need to figure out who Liliana Vess is, without all the demons, debts and dragon-gods, before I let anyone else in."

"... Well, then, before you go, you can have this back." Rat said with a sigh as she held up the spirit gem, no longer tucked protectively under her arm. "It's what you came here for in the first place, after all."

"But what about you? People can actually see you, so long as you're holding onto that, handing it back over to me would be a waste." Liliana admitted, looking down at her reflection in the polished surface. "Keep it for yourself, you need it more than I do."

"And you earned it more than me!" Rat responded quickly, her insistent tone growing more and more intense. "None of the others know it, but Tezzeret used me to lure people into his trap, and I played right into his hand. Even if this gem does grant me my wish to be perceived like a regular person... I haven't done anything to earn it, but you? You tended after Mister Beleren, and saved Miss Chandra's life. You even helped to defeat Tezzeret! The multiverse is a pretty massive place, I'm sure there's another way for me to earn my cure."

Before Liliana could reject her offer again, Rat shoved the spirit gem into her hands. However, she pushed it right back with enough force to, hopefully, get across that she was serious.

"Let me explain one last thing to you, from one traitorous scumbag to another." She huffed. "You're not going to be able to earn everything- sometimes, you have to take what you need."

"But-"

"No more 'buts', alright." Liliana cut her off before she could even get the word out completely. "I don't need this. I never did."

A sudden bloom of heat caught both Liliana and Rat off guard, as the once cold surface of the precious bauble grew warm- not hot enough to burn them, but certainly enough to take notice of. Liliana gasped in surprise, but despite her shock, she couldn't bring herself to let the spirit gem go- neither of them could, even as the mysterious heat was joined by a glow that managed to penetrate the golden surface. It lit the immediate area around them, quickly growing from a subtle iridescent bloom to being almost like a small sun held in their hands, forcing Liliana to squeeze her eyes shut against the harsh glare. She heard Rat cry out in surprise, but despite the fact she was right in front of her, she sounded miles away, her voice echoing softer and softer before being drowned out by an almost deafening silence.

Liliana kept her eyes closed tight, only the sound of her own breathing filling the mysterious void she had suddenly found herself. Rat was gone, the spirit gem that had been in her hands was gone, but the warmth and the light that she could see that seeped through her eyelids remained. Passed her surprise, and the natural mounting fear of the unknown, there was an inexplicable sense of comfort that surrounded her, like a loving embrace.

"You finally made it."

The familiar voice was enough of a shock to force Liliana to open her eyes. She expected to see Rat, and the gaping hole they had made in the wall of the fortress- for what little she had experienced to have been a strange-yet-fleeting illusion- but, instead, she discovered an endless expanse of white, with not even a familiar landmark to be seen. Even the shifting silver sand that had been beneath her feet had vanished. However, as strange as it all was, none of it felt like a issue worth reacting to, all of it paling in comparison to the person she had suddenly come face-to-face with.

"G... Gideon?!" Liliana gaped, rubbing her eyes multiple times, both expecting him to vanish each time and hoping that he would remain. He no longer wore his all-too-familiar armor, instead wearing casual clothes that, somehow, suited him even more than what she was used to seeing him in. He hadn't a scar, scratch or even a bruise on him, not like she last remembered him, battle scarred and not to mention smoldering. He seemed incredibly at peace and, more importantly, genuinely happy to see her.

"Funny, I was honestly expecting you to call be 'beefslab' again." He joked with a smile.

"What's going on!? This... this has to be some kind of illusion, you're not... you can't be..." Liliana shook her head as she muttered, turning away from him and his perfection, refusing to look at him or his smile that threatened to dredge up emotions she had tried so hard to bury deep inside her heart. "You're supposed to be... I saw you..."

"Liliana, it's alright." Gideon said, as she felt him rest his hands them on her shoulders. They felt real, and solid, not like an illusion at all. She shuddered at his touch, still feeling like she had to reject him- _needed_ to reject him. She didn't deserve his reassuring touch, his kind smile, or him at all. "There's no one around to see, you can cry."

"I'm not crying!" She vehemently denied, turning in his direction to try and get her point across only to realize her vision was blurred, and her eyes stung from the all-too-familiar sensation of traitorous tears. She could deny all she wanted at that point, but she could already feel as a few broke free and trickled down her cheeks. All she could do now, was hide them, and she did so by burying her face against Gideon's chest as she wept. She had so many questions, and even twice as many things she just wanted to say to him, but all she could think to do was cry, a single, unsatisfying "why" bubbling up passed her sobs.

"Why?" Gideon repeated.

"Yes, you overgrown muscle-head, why!? Why me!? Why did you have to give up everything you had for me!? Why was I worth it!?" She shouted.

"You know... it's quite silly- hell, it might have been a completely selfish act on my part." He admitted as he reached up to wipe away a tear still traveling down her cheek. "The multiverse would have remembered you as a villain, and the Gatewatch would have looked back on you being a traitor. It may not be as deep a reason as you might have hoped but... I didn't want you to be remembered that way, especially after everything you were willing to give up. It felt like a waste, to me, to let you die."

"It should have been you to do all of those things: to help Jace and save Chandra." Liliana bitterly admitted.

"And it was- I live on in all of you now. Every good deed you do, every life you save, every time someone is left remembering you as the hero... that's enough for me." He assured her. "The multiverse has gotten to know Gideon Jura as a hero well enough- it's time it got to know Liliana Vess as she was truly meant to be."

"I'm going to screw up- I know I am. I always do..." She frowned, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Only if you allow yourself to." He said, his words forcefully pulling her out of the darkness she had begin to wander towards. "You aren't your mistakes, you aren't as rotten to the core as you think you are. Now... you have time enough to realize that for yourself."

"Kytheon!" A youthful voice called from behind Liliana, and Gideon looked over her shoulder with a familial smile. She was tempted to look over her shoulder, to see who exactly was calling him, but she couldn't quite being herself to. "Hurry up, we need to go!"

"I'm sorry, I wish I could stay longer." He gave her an apologetic grin, slowly letting her go. "But, at least, I got the chance to give you a real, proper goodbye."

"This is the last time I'll see you, isn't it?" Liliana sighed, before reacing out and gently grasping his shirt. "Let me at least get one more, good look at you before you go."

She gazed up at him, drinking every last inch of him in: his kind eyes, smiling lips, strong jawline and broad shoulders. She wanted to erase every last bit of the former final memory she had of him, as nothing more than a disintegrating smile and a vanishing grip on her shoulder. She wanted to remember him like he was, standing before her now, living the happy life he had more than deserved, after everything the multiverse had thrown at him, and everything she had put him through.

"Kytheon!" A different, boyish voice called his name- his true name- as Liliana finally released him. It was a feeling twinged with melancholy, but even so, she was satisfied.

"Kytheon..." She said, finally allowing herself to smile. "Thank you."

He opened his mouth, and appeared to be speaking, but his voice didn't quite reach her, remaining instead as a whisper too far off for her to hear as the image of him slowly vanished into the white expanse, leaving her alone to drift in the void by herself. She reached out to him one last time as the last little outlines of him faded away.

_I'll remember you always as the person who gave me the one thing the entire multiverse never could: a second chance._

* * *

Liliana gasped sharply, eye's fluttering open to the sound of her name being called- not by _his_ voice, unfortunately, but the voice, or rather voices, were just as familiar. She moaned as her vision sharpened, revealing the familiar sight of the pulverized wall of Tezzeret's fortress, as well as several people hovering over her, one of whom reached out and grasped her shoulder, gently shaking her.

"Don't... touch me..." She spoke, words groggily tumbling from her lips as she limply swatted the hand away.

"Oh, yeah, she's definitely awake." She recognized the voice of Chandra, as well as a few others offering concerned murmurs as she slowly sat up, clutching her now-throbbing head.

"What... happened?" She asked, digging the fingers of her other hand into the soft, cold sand below her, regaining her bearings and steadying herself.

"That's what we'd like to know." Chandra said as she stood up and backed up slightly. Liliana could see Nissa, as well, hovering close behind her and not quite looking as relieved, but at least she didn't look unhappy that she was conscious. "There was this bright flash, and when we looked you were out cold on the ground. We tried asking that other girl, but she had less of an idea about what happened than the rest of us."

"Other girl...?" Liliana asked in a woozy tone before it felt like her brain finally caught up with the conversation at hand, giving her the last, final shock she needed to wake up completely. "Nine Hells, that's right, Rat! Where is she!? Is she... I mean... not that I'm too worried, I'm sure getting knocked out probably wouldn't even phase her, I'm just a little curious..."

"She's right here!" Liliana heard Rat before she saw her, before she plowed passed everyone and leaned in close and shoved her open palm into her face, giving her fingers a quick wiggle. Liliana wrinkled her nose and frowned, brow creasing harshly as she waited for what she hoped was a reasonable explanation for why she'd almost gotten smothered. "Look, Miss Liliana!"

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" She asked gruffly.

"Hmm? Oh, right, right, of course, how thoughtless of me, _you_ could see me before, I forgot." Rat nervously laughed as she pulled away her hand. "A little hard to keep track of now, about who could and couldn't see me, especially when none of that matters anymore! Look, look, no spirit gem! Aaaaaaaand-" Rat held up both her hands with a flourish before pointing in Chandra's direction. "- you can see me, can't you!"

"Yep, sure can..." Chandra humored Rat's question with a slight smile that twitched at the corners. Clearly this hadn't been the first time she had been asked, or even just the second.

"And you can see me, too, can't you, Mister Beleren!?" Rat continued, pointing to Jace this time, who seemed to be losing patience with her faster than Chandra was.

"Still can." He said wearily.

"See! People can see me now, Miss Liliana! I mean, sure, it's going to take some getting used to, and I won't be able to get away with the things I normally could- oh, I guess this means I'll actually have to put some effort into sneaking into places now, but that doesn't matter! Maybe I'll even let myself get caught once or twice, solely because I _can_ now!" Rat turned back to Liliana, smiling from ear to ear in a way that was both tiring and infectious. "Now all of Ravnica- the whole damn multiverse even- will be able to get to know and see this Rat!"

"And now that everyone can see her, she's only going to be than much more obnoxious." Liliana chuckled, happy that everyone else was getting a taste of what she had had to suffer through. "So, I guess the spirit gem is gone?"

"Not a trace of it. Maybe all of Tezzeret's meddling with it caused it to be unstable- at this point we can only guess, but at least neither of you were hurt." Jace explained as he reached out, offering her a hand to help her back onto her feet. Liliana half raised her own, but hesitated, looking between both of their hands and him as her brain began to overwork itself over something she knew was so incredibly simple.

"It's just a hand."

"I know that." Liliana huffed as she reached out completely and took it, allowing him to pull her onto her feet.

Something sliding off of her and hitting the sand with a soft thud caught her attention, as well as the attention of everyone else. Looking down at her feet, Liliana couldn't help but gawk when she saw the Chain Veil, the strap that kept it attached to her waist completely snapped, part of the mask now buried in the gritty soil. It wouldn't have been as shocking as it was, had it not been combined with something else- or rather, a total lack of something. There wasn't any strong, burning desire to pick it back up, no yearning so strong it felt like she were dying. Liliana couldn't even feel a lingering pull as she looked down at the cursed object like it were any other, normal trinket, and she even took a large step away from it just to be sure.

_Return to us! Return to us, Vessel!_

She could still hear the cruel chatter of the Onakke spirits, their whispers that were normally so unbearably tempting now just sounding like brutish demands that she could ignore. Yet, she could still hear them, as a cruel reminder that the threat of their curse still lingered, albeit in a clearly weakened state. She took a long, proud breath, more than pleased she could respond to their insistent hissing with absolutely nothing at all.

"The Veil-" Nissa spoke up, just as shocked and still just as mistrusting of the thing and its curse.

"Here, you dropped this-" Rat said, reaching for the Veil before Liliana smacked her hand away, hard enough to make the girl yelp in both shock and pain.

"Idiot!" Liliana snapped. "I swear, you would have gotten the life shocked out of you and horribly cursed in the same day if I wasn't here to stop you!"

"But do you have to be so rough about it?" Rat muttred as she held her now-aching hand. "A simple 'no' would work just as well, I think."

"And if you don't properly punish dumb animals, they'll only keep getting in to trouble." Liliana grumbled. "Regardless, if you want to actually get the chance to live to enjoy that visibility of yours, you'll keep your hands off."

"What about you?" Jace asked. "Aren't you... you don't feel strange?"

"Unless you count absolutely normal as 'strange'." Liliana shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but I'm also not about to question it- and I'm certainly not about to un-do whatever mercy I've been given by picking that thing back up."

"Well, if you don't want it..." Kaya, who had been hanging close by until then, probably to reign Rat in (which she was doing a horrible job of, in Liliana's very-much annoyed opinion). "Perhaps, then, I can bring it back to Ravnica with me, as 'proof' that we killed you."

"Hmm? What's this, not going to try and convince me to come back with you to try and plead my innocence?" Liliana questioned with a sarcastic cock of her eyebrow, along with a smirk.

"Something tells me that killing you would be a lot easier than convincing you to do that." Kaya sighed, her shoulder's slumping. Perhaps she still wanted that things to still turn out like she had hoped they would in her idealistic fantasies, but at least she was willing to accept that Liliana was far from being anyone's ideal anything. "If that thing is as attached to you as it sounds, than it should work as good enough evidence for the council back on Ravnica that I actually went and did my job like they asked- so long as we all agree to lie to the Living Guildpact himself, that is."

"I think we're all going to have to do a little lying." Vraska finally spoke up, who was holding Tezzeret's severed arm. She looked down at it and frowned, not exactly satisfied with her trophy. Liliana honestly felt that she could sympathize: not being able to make absolutely sure Tezzeret hadn't survived was gnawing at the back of her mind as well. "You're not the only one who wasn't able to follow Niv Mizzet's commands to the letter."

"Ral's the only one whose target is absolutely dead- and he wasn't even the one to do it." Chandra admitted. "I just hope that him, Saheeli and those other two can find his body- if it got swept away in those sewers, that's a whole other thing we're going to have to worry about."

"Sounds like I missed quite a bit." Nissa said with a slight shudder.

"Don't worry, I'll have plenty of time to tell you all about it once all this mess is settled." Chandra assured her.

Liliana stood in silence, once more finding no place where she could fit in, both in the group and in the conversation as it began to slowly get away from her. Once more, she felt content despite that, reveling in the detachment she felt from both the group as well as the Veil.

"Pardon me..." Teyo said as he approached. "I can probably transport that back to Ravnica without having to touch it, if I'm careful."

"Knock yourself out." Liliana chuckled slightly as she moved out of his way, and proceeded to walk down the embankment without another word.

"Wait!" Surprisingly, it was Nissa who called out to her, of all people. Maybe she was willing to speak to her because she was no longer attached to the Chain Veil, or maybe it was because she'd saved Chandra's life. Whatever the reason, it still caught Liliana off guard enough to actually give her pause. "You're leaving already?"

"Sure am." Liliana said with a sigh, keeping her answer short and sweet.

"Will we ever... see you again?" Chandra hesitantly asked.

Liliana pondered over her answer for a brief moment, her gaze slowly shifting from Chandra and Nissa to Jace, who was choosing not to say anything to her in parting. His gaze that was free of mistrust, however, was about as good of a goodbye as she could probably hope to get.

"I don't think so. Best to keep up the lie and treat things as if I really did die." She said with a bitter smile as she shook her head. "Liliana Vess is no more- and in her place, well, who knows. But, if you do happen to see her out there while you're saving the multiverse from whatever comes next..." She paused as she turned her back on them, turning her gaze towards the vast, silver desert.

"... Just treat it like you saw a ghost."

Without another word- without any more words she felt needed to be said- Liliana Vess vanished.


	12. Chapter 12

**Return Trip**

**Ral Zarek**

The atmosphere within the Azorius Senate House was so incredibly tense, Ral could hardly even breath. Of course, he didn't quite know for sure if it was due to the gravity of the meeting- with the eyes of the seven other guilds as well as Niv-Mizzet settling down upon him- or the fact that he had come there to _lie._ The only real solace he had was that he wasn't alone in having to spin the tallest tale he had ever spun, and that he stood shoulder to shoulder with his fellow liars. Kaya and Vraska stood just as nervous and stiff as him as the rest of the council quietly deliberated.

Jace and Chandra were not in attendance, their wounds taking precedence over giving their own accounts to the council- Chandra with her arms that she could hardly raise above her waist and Jace with a stab wound he had somehow managed to hide the entire time, much to Ral's shock. Nissa was also absent, having not even stepped a foot onto Ravnica proper for very obvious, Vitu-Ghazi-related reasons. Rat, as well, had gone and run off somewhere, but that was to be expected, more than likely on a mission to show herself off to every single person on the plane who had eyes. Everyone else, however, was present, ready to back up him, Kaya and Vraska if necessary. Even Jaya, who looked like she was a half second away from spitting out yet another complaint, was among them, obviously ready to lie like the rest of them, but not seeming at all happy about it.

Ral looked to his side, spying Tomik who had taken his place beside Kaya. Another thing that churned his insides was that he hadn't even gotten a chance to look at him, much less speak with him. Every last, little thing he wanted to say to him, specifically, mingled with the constructed lie in his head. His lover seemed just as exhausted as he felt, but stood determined despite the fact he was a good, long blink away from toppling over. It had felt like a long, torturous eternity, but they truly hadn't been away _that_ long, and yet, Tomik already sported impressively-dark bags under his eyes that the rims of his glasses couldn't even hide.

"It appears you all had quite a rough time- I certainly hope your efforts were worth it." Niv-Mizzet said with an almost amused-sounding hiss. "Let's not let this meeting drag on for longer than it needs to, seeing as it's already quite late."

"You may step forward." Lavinia, who stood at one side of The Firemind, spoke very officially, her stiff posture and proud tilt of her head almost made up for the fact she was absolutely dwarfed by him.

Ral shared a quick glance with both Kaya and Vraska, the former giving him a quick, assuring side-eye and the other giving a slightly-nervous clear of her throat, before they obeyed and stepped into the center of the room. It took all of Ral's strength not to buckle under the combined weight of the entire council as he forced himself to look up into the glowing-yet-cold eyes of Niv-Mizzet, who seemed to be watching his every move, even down to the slightest twitch of his fingers.

"Ral..." His former guildmaster addressed him formally before the rest of the council, in a manner that wasn't clear if it was meant to simply be out of familiarity, or to mock him. Hearing his name suddenly spoken felt like a shock to each of his individual senses as his hair stood on end. The eyes of the guild representatives honed in on him as he stepped forward with a single, cautious step. "You were tasked with the assassination of Dovin Baan, are you able to confirm that you were successful?"

"Y-Yes..." Ral nodded, internally cursing himself for stammering right out of the gate. Biting the inside of his cheek in frustration, he turned back to Saheeli, who rushed to join him at his side. She held in her hands Baan's severed head- the rest of him was still back on Kaladesh, left to rot in the old, abandoned sewer system. Even though Vraska had been kind enough to petrify the remains they had brought along, to preserve it as well as kill off the already retched stench it had been giving off, she still held it with her fingertips and away from herself, clearly still disgusted by it. Ral looked down at the severed head, its permanently shocked expression, despite how haunting it was, feeling like a relief after having stared Niv-Mizzet down.

"I killed Dovin Baan, as proof I have his head..." He looked back up at Niv-Mizzet very specifically, this time forcing himself not to waver under his gaze. Now was the time to put every ounce of effort into being convincing. His was the easiest lie to tell- Baan was obviously dead, the kill simply hadn't been his- but still, it felt just as difficult to force out. "I trust that will be enough to convince you."

Lavinia approached them, taking the petrified head from a clearly thankful Saheeli, who immediately began to wipe her fingers on her clothes. Lavinia studied the head closely, a thoughtful hum reverberating behind her tightly closed lips as she turned it over his her hands. Sweat dampened Ral's brow as he impatiently awaited her confirmation.

"This is, indeed, the head of Dovin Baan." She finally spoke, a clear amount of disgust in her voice now that she was sure she was holding his despicable remains. "Even in death, with a face like that, I can still detect his unmistakable smugness."

Ral returned to looking up at Niv, giving what he felt was the best performance of his life. He kept his expression serious, with his lips pulled into a hard-but-serious frown as he stared the Living Guildpact down, who seemed almost disappointed that Ral had succeeded. Perhaps, he had wanted a little more drama, already tired of the very stuffy, official nature of his new position.

"Very well, for this you are forgiven of our crimes." He huffed, giving Ral one, last, chilling look before focusing his sights elsewhere: on the second member of their party.

"Guildmaster Vraska-" Aurelia spoke up, who took up the spot on Niv''s other side.

"I would prefer the title of Queen," Vraska interrupted sharply, offering nothing more than that, along with a slight glare up at the angel as she took Ral's place at the front of the group. Aurelia cleared her throat, but did not correct herself as she continued.

"You were tasked with the assassination of Tezzeret. Can you confirm for us that you were successful?"

"I can- if what I have is substantial for you lot." Vraska said with an annoyed grumble as she held up the severed etherium arm of her target that she had previously held tucked under her arm.

"And what of The Wanderer? I can't help but notice her absence." Lazav immediately spoke up, not even giving any of them time to breath.

"Does it really matter where she is?" Vraska questioned, a slight growl in her voice.

"The others who agreed to help in aiding you all are present, it's only logical that her absence would stand out." Lazav said as he folded his arms with the slightest of smirks that clearly got to her, the tendrils on her head twitching like an irritated cat would twitch its tail.

"Answer the question, _Queen_ Vraska." Niv-Mizzet said, her title slipping from his lips like it were derogatory.

"Once the job was complete, she took her leave. She'd been given payment for her services and felt our business was through once Tezzeret had been slain." Vraska explained, narrowing her eyes. Maybe she was considering just how well Niv's own form would compliment Isperia's, but if that were truly the case, at least she kept the intent to herself. "She's a planeswalker, after all, hardly even tied to this plane in the slightest. Trying to force her to come back with me would be like forcing the wind not to blow."

"Could you really only bring nothing besides his arm?" Exava continued the barrage of questions, hands on her hips as she looked down as Vraska's proof with a withering gaze. "At least Guildmaster Ral brought back a head, what does an arm even prove?"

For a terrifying few seconds that felt like they dragged on for hours, Ral couldn't even manage a breath.

"The arm was all I was able to salvage. I would have brought back much more, but you would have had to deal with looking through pebbles." Vraska responded smoothly, albeit with bite that added a sharpness to her words. "The Wanderer wasn't satisfied with simply having him turned to stone- I tried to stop her, but she was quick to desecrate his corpse. It's honestly lucky I was able to bring back anything at all, but, of course, if you would like, I'd be more than happy to leave you all here waiting so I can go all the way back to Esper and collect a handful of rocks. Maybe a finger or a toe made it out..."

"Let's not waste any more of our time." Lavinia surprisingly spoke up as she approached Vraska and delicately took the arm. "And, additionally, you're time would be better spent overseeing your guild instead of running off to go rock collecting, don't you think?" She offered her a disarming smile that left no room for sharp words. Vraska merely turned her gaze downward, allowing her hands to drift slowly back down at her sides.

"Yes... Thank... you..." The words were clumsy and sounded confused, a verbal equivalent of a newborn fawn struggling to walk on new legs. Her mouth was open, ready to add anything else, but all that remained was a struggled grumble that eventually dwindled down to nothing.

"Consider this a favor from the Azorius Senate. Quelling the bad blood between us, especially now, seems only appropriate." Lavinia said with much more ease and finesse as her expression returned to the usual, serious frown. "The arm clearly belongs to Tezzeret, I see no reason why we should prolong this any further- that is, unless someone among you seeks to profit from keeping Queen Vraska off Ravnica."

The council responded with silence as she eyed each and every one of them suspiciously. Meanwhile, Vraska seemed like she was having trouble processing what had just happened, now just keeping her usual frown as a formality. Her overall demeanor read a complex combination of both relieved and confused. She had been braced for a more aggressive attack, but no such impact had come.

"It's settled then, wouldn't you say?" Lavinia asked, turning up towards Niv-Mizzet, who finally relented with a slight shrug of his massive, scaly shoulders.

"It's satisfactory at best, but just this once- although it pains me- satisfactory will have to suffice." He grunted. "But _only_ this time."

"Guildmaster Kaya," Lavinia nodded as she returned to speaking in an almost-rehearsed tone. Kaya perked up ever-so-slightly, before shuffling in front of the other two. She kept her hands clasped tightly behind her back, and from the angle he was at, Ral could see her wringing her fingers. "You were tasked with the assassination of Liliana Vess. Are you able to confirm, to the council, that you were successful?"

"Right..." Kaya paused as she turned around and motioned at her attendants with a quick jerk of her head. Tomik came to join her, holding what looked to be an incredibly complex puzzle box, followed by Teyo who was holding the Chain Veil an entire arms-length ahead of himself, still impressively suspended within the protective orb he had created. It was nowhere close to being a danger to him while it was held inside, but by the looks of things, the young man wasn't about to take even the slightest chance as he held himself in an awkward manner, like he was shrinking away from the very thing he was holding.

"An artifact? Out of everything else we've seen today, can that even be considered proof?" Vannifar, representing the Simic Combine herself, asked in a suspicious tone.

"I promise you, this- The Chain Veil- is more than enough proof, as I've learned." Kaya explained, her tone robotic and stiff. "Its a highly cursed object, a single touch can overpower most, and left Liliana Vess bound to it with her body and soul. She would have rather died than let it out of her sight like this- which, she is. She's _very_ dead."

Ral restrained himself from reacting as Kaya verbally tripped over the finish line.

"From what Jace has told me, Gruildmaster Kaya speaks the truth. Liliana Vess and the Veil were intimately, fatally connected." Lavinia agreed.

"I can stand as a witness, if you lot need more proof than that." Jaya finally spoke up as she joined Kaya, standing in stark contrast with how easily and casually she kept up the deception. "Luck was on our side that Liliana Vess was still weakened from her struggle against Nicol Bolas. Had we faced her at full strength, we might not have even survived, but she still had strength left to recover when we found her. However, once the deed was done, Kaya felt it was only right that we give the woman a proper funeral instead of bringing her corpse or a hacked-off body part back here. In the end, she was a criminal through and through, and she got what she deserved, but she was also the one who killed that tyrant. Nicol Bolas. Kaya insisted we properly lay her to rest, at least."

"Does the old hag speak the truth?" Exava asked rudely as the others turned to Kaya, waiting for her answer.

"Yes." Kaya said with a sigh as her shoulders relaxed into a slump. She gave Jaya a thankful look that the old woman returned with one of slight pride, as if to say "where would you even be without me?" "I couldn't bring myself to desecrate her corpse, and I can't imagine any of you would have treated it with much respect. Her remains are buried on her family's ancient estate, where they belong."

"How very sentimental of you- and, perhaps I must have been too vague when I gave my commands about what would make a proper trophy..." Niv grumbled, eyeing the Veil as Teyo carefully lowered it into the puzzle box. Once inside, Tomik slid part of the box back into place, covering the opening and starting a chain reaction of clicks and whirring noises as several complex locks were snapped and linked into place.

"It's not to be touched- I need to stress this." Kaya insisted harshly, stepping into the Living Guildpact's line of sight, blocking his view of the box. "This isn't just a simple magic trinket, understand? If it doesn't kill you, the curse will drive you mad, and the power within could finish what Nicol Bolas started here."

"Don't go taking me for a fool, Guildmaster, I'm not as simple a creature as all of you." He assured her while sounding considerably annoyed. "The Veil will be kept under tight lock and key. Not a soul on this plane will so much be able to look at it, much less get to it."

"It's not _them_ I'm worried about." Kaya eyed him with a mistrusting glare, which Niv returned with a snarl.

"I'd hold your tongue, if I were you. You've earned your innocence today, but blind accusations aren't going to help in furthering your case." He said behind bared teeth.

"Of course, she understands this- don't you, Kaya?" Tomik asked, turning to her and giving her a serious look and a chastising frown. She stared him down, giving him a bothered look in return but, thankfully, was in no hurry to pick fights with the man who looked like she could knock him over with a single, solid breath.

"Yeah, I understand." She sighed, watching intently as Niv Mizzet himself reached out and pulled the puzzle box closer to him with one of his hooked claws. Regardless of what she said, it was even more obvious that she still didn't trust the Veil in the hands of Niv-Mizzet, Living Guildpact or not. Ral could even sympathize, although she chose not to speak up and rock the boat any further- he knew his former Guildmaster's almost boundless curiosity very, very well.

"Well, that went a lot smoother than I expected it to- well, at least, in comparison to an invasion, maybe a lot of things are going to feel a lot more simple..." Lavinia announced. "If that's all, and Kaya's crimes are forgiven as well, then we can-"

"Wait!" Tomik shouted out of nowhere, catching everyone by surprise as he spoke out of turn. Lavinia furrowed her brow, a muffled groan barely able to be heard from behind her lips. "There's one more order of business I need to address, since I have all of you here. I don't know when I'm going to get another chance when all ten guilds are present and not at each others throats, so..."

Ral looked on in surprise as Tomik turned to him, and felt his heart flutter as he drew himself in closer. He was close enough to hold, almost close enough to kiss. How cruel of him, to do this when they still had an audience, when Ral could do nothing but stare and wait impatiently for- what was Tomik doing exactly?

Why was he bending down onto one knee?

"Ral..." The way Tomik said his name felt sacred, and made Ral feel important, even in the presence of the other guilds and the Living Guildpact. He looked up at him, an intensity in his eyes that went further than just being simple affection. This was different, something much deeper, warmer and overwhelming. "Will you marry me?"

He had been so overcome by Tomik's gaze, Ral hadn't even seen him lift up the tiny box in the palm of his hand, now open to reveal a small, golden band. He felt as if he couldn't breath again, but for a whole, different reason this time as he struggled to find even the simplest words.

"I... I..." He gasped. "... But, wait, I already proposed to you!"

"That was more of a random suggestion you made in the bathtub- I like to do things a little more by-the-book, if you don't mind." Tomik said with a smirk. "But, it did get me to start really considering things- you're not the only one who's been doing some thinking. Plus, it's not like it's a big, damn secret anymore."

"Tomik..." Ral breathlessly stammered. The anxiety he had felt all throughout the past few days, the stress of presenting himself before the council and the overwhelming feeling of relief and adoration mixed together in his chest in a grand, chaotic display that showed itself as nothing more than tears that immediately filled and spilled out of his eyes. "... Yes. _Yes!_ "

There was absolutely no shame in his emotional outburst, but it also didn't hurt that Tomik was crying right along with him as he stood and took Ral's hand, clumsily slipping the ring onto his finger. There were murmurs that echoed through the chamber, a stray clap here and there, but he hardly cared about the reaction. Nothing else mattered in that moment, not even the fact that he and the others had just lied to the face of the living embodiment of the law. All he cared about was Tomik as he held him close and kissed his lips, unsure if he could ever bring himself to stop.

Fiance had a nice, pleasant ring to it- which was more than convenient, since Ral had a feeling he would be saying it an awful lot.

**Teyo Verada**

Everyone else had either completely left or was still inside, giving congratulations both genuine and awkward to the freshly engaged Ral and Tomik, but all Teyo wanted was some fresh air and a bit of peace and quiet. He felt like he had aged several dozen years since he had arrived on Ravnica the first time. As he stood outside the Sentate House, however, he questioned if he felt wiser. So many things had happened, almost all at once, he was still unsure if he could take any of it to heart and learn from it. Don't wander into any strange fortresses. Watch out for trap doors and gargoyles. Maybe home isn't always where you grew up.

Teyo considered that last one as he smiled to himself. Home was where the people he loved were. Home was Kaya's protective nature and kind heart that took a little digging to get to. Home was Rat's laugh and listening to her talk without hardly ever needing to breath. Home was standing and watching the sun lazily rise over the tops of buildings, slowly bathing him in a comforting light that warmed him down to his exhausted bones. Home probably wasn't back on Gobakhan, and that was completely fine with him.

"What a racket." Teyo jumped in surprise, turning to see Jaya as she shuffled out of the Senate House to join him in watching the sunrise. She glared back at the sun like it had just hurled a scathing insult back at her. "I was getting to old for this before any of it even happened."

"Are you leaving?" He asked. He was so used to having her around, it didn't occur to him until then that Jaya was also a planeswalker, probably with a totally different concept of home that was waiting for her someplace else.

"Yeah, I was just on my way out- honestly, I didn't even feel like saying my goodbyes, I'm just glad to be through with all of this." Jaya groaned, pressing one of her hands against her aching back. "Maybe I should go to a whole new plane where no one knows me, and no one can find me... that being said, the last time I did that, I wound up establishing a monastery..."

"You? Founding a monastery?" Teyo gawked before regrettably pulling back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it's just... you don't seem the matriarch kind of type."

"Then what kind of type do I seem like to you, then, hmm?" Jaya teased in a harsh tone.

"Ah, well, you see- that is... er..." Teyo struggled, grasping for anything to say that properly explained how he felt about the intense older woman smirking at him.

" _Ha_ , I'm just toying with you, don't hurt yourself trying to be polite." She chuckled, which turned into a tired sigh that slowly slipped passed her lips.

"Regardless, I _am_ going to miss you." Teyo quickly added. "I genuinely will."

"Well, if you ever want to give the whole acolyte song and dance another try, you can always stop by Keral Keep back on Regatha." She offered, but Teyo shook his head.

"I'll keep that in mind, but right now I feel like... as a planeswalker, I owe it myself to explore other avenues."

"You're still quite young, you have time to go out there and truly find yourself." She gave up with a shrug, not pushing the idea any further, happy to just plant the seed in Teyo's mind.

"Jaya! Wait!"

" _Chandra?_ " Both her and Teyo looked up to see Chandra Nalaar rushing across the square to meet them. Her arms were wrapped in bandages, and her ruined gauntlet was tucked under her arm. "You're not in any pain now, are you?"

"Nope, the healers here are really something else! I'm good as new!" Chandra smiled as she flexed one of her arms for emphasis without even the slightest flinch. "They _did_ tell me I should rest, but I opted out- no time to be sitting around."

"In a hurry to go and run off to Zendikar, now, are you?" Jaya laughed.

"Well, yeah, sure..." Chandra blushed. "B-but, before that, I needed to come and find you before you left!"

"Me? What for?" Jaya asked, raising a doubtful eyebrow high onto her forehead.

"I just... felt I should apologize. I said a lot of stuff in the heat of the moment, I didn't want you to leave thinking I was still upset with you." Chandra explained. "I mean, you're like a second mom to me: an older, crankier, snarkier mom, but still..."

" _You're_ apologizing to _me?_ " Jaya asked, looking surprised as a single, shocked chuckle escaped her. "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you, Chandra- and I normally don't feel apologies are necessary, but for you I'll be glad to make an exception just this once."

"Wow, what an honor." Chandra laughed with a roll of her eyes.

"Listen, I've been around longer much longer than you, probably longer than I have a right to, honestly. I've seen and done so many things in my life, I've come away thinking that I know what's best. But now, watching you, after everything you said back on Esper... perhaps that's not always the case. Maybe I just know what's best for Jaya Ballard, and not so much what's best for Chandra Nalaar." Jaya explained, speaking in a tone that Teyo hadn't though she was capable of, her voice warm and almost motherly. "You remind me of when I was young, and that scares me, more than any madman or dragon-god. But... I'm starting to see that doesn't mean you'll wind up like me, and that has absolutely nothing to do with how I decide to meddle in your life."

"I don't know, being compared to you feels kind of like a compliment, if you had told me I reminded you of a younger Jaya Ballard any time before this, I would have died happy right there and then." Chandra admitted.

"Trust me, it's not as big of a compliment as you're treating it." Jaya shook her head, roughly patting Chandra on the shoulder. "But, if you keep following your heart like you have been, keeping your friends close, no matter what people say, I'm happy to say you'll become less and less like me. And, who knows, maybe one day you'll wind up out-shinning Jaya Ballard."

Without another word, Chandra reached out and wrapped Jaya in a tight hug. The older woman fought back at first, smacking her on the back and demanding breathlessly that she be let go, but her protest ended as fast as it began. She leaned into her hug, eventually returning it in a much more subtle way.

"Thank you..." Chandra's voice could just barely be heard before she pulled herself away from her elderly mentor, cheeks red and eyes watery, ready to cry but not quite so overcome.

"Now, don't stick around here on my behalf, you have somewhere else you need to be, don't you?" Jaya said suggestively. "I bet a certain elf is desperately waiting for you, so don't waste all your hugs on me."

"Right!" Chandra said with an enthusiastic nod. "I'll tell her you said hello."

"I didn't say a damn thing." Jaya protested, but Chandra had already started to depart, turning to give Teyo a wave goodbye as well, and vanishing in a brilliant display of flame before he could even raise his hand.

"Well... that was touching." He said, filling the now quiet air.

"I hope you're not expecting a hug as well." Jaya said, narrowing her eyes.

"Only if you're offering." Teyo chuckled.

"Only if you want a slug in the arm." Jaya grinned slightly before beginning to walk out into the square.

"Jaya!" Teyo called out to her one last time, and she threw an annoyed look over her shoulder- which was fine, he expected nothing less from her. "... It was nice meeting you."

"Hm, it's been a long time since I've heard that one." She mused. "Lets just hope the next time we meet, it will be under more peaceful circumstances."

"Yeah-" Teyo began to say, a half second before Jaya saw herself out and planeswalked away, leaving behind a fiery burst that forced Teyo to shield his eyes. When he was finally able to pull his hand away from his face, the square was empty, and the sun, now clearing the tops of the tallest buildings, didn't look as brilliant as before. He stood in silence, drinking in the early morning silence by himself once again- but, not for long.

"Teyo, you out here already?" Kaya could be heard, calling from behind him

"Yeah, I just needed a second to breath." He said as she joined him. "You just missed Jaya."

"What!? You mean she left without even saying goodbye!?" Kaya complained before folding her arms in frustration. "I honestly shouldn't be surprised, she'd totally be the type to skip confrontation and just see herself out. I'll just have to give her hell for it the next time our paths cross."

"So... what now?" Teyo asked after a brief silence. "The war's over, you've been absolved of your crimes- honestly, I'm not exactly sure what to do with plain old... _peace._ "

"Well, you can start by going and finding Rat." Kaya suggested. "That is, if you can actually find her this time."

"I have a feeling I'll have better luck this time around. After all, people can see her now and she's also actually on the plane this time." Teyo chuckled. "What about you?"

"Oh, I have to return to Orzhova." Kaya said, her tone suddenly uncertain as her expression soured. "Apparently Tomik's been arranging something while we were away. I have a feeling there's a reason he's keeping it a secret from me, and that I'm not going to like it."

**Kaya**

The halls leading to the Orzhova library were lined with soldiers, leaving Kaya brushing against them there were so many in such a tight space. She had noticed at least four of them stationed just outside as her and Tomik arrived, and a few when they first walked in, but now their presence was literally impossible to ignore. She looked up at them as they passed, silent sentinels donning the typical armor of an Orzhov knight, complete with helmets that hid their face and weapons drawn and held out in plain sight. The only face she could see in their ranks was her own, reflected back at her from their golden armor.

"Okay, Tomik, you've kept up this whole secret thing long enough." She finally spoke up once her nerves were too much for her to bear. "We didn't need a single guard when I transferred all of the debts over to you, why do we suddenly need an army if we're just going to reverse it?"

"It's... not that simple." He vaguely explained, leaving Kaya even more unsatisfied than when he'd been giving her the cold shoulder.

"What do you mean? What we did before wasn't a simple spell, obviously, I saw how wordy those contracts were, but I'd hardly say it's complex enough to warrant every knight at our disposal!" She snapped. "What about this is so much different than before!?"

"Look, while you were gone, I took the time to do some work of my own. I didn't want you to have to come back here, just to shoulder all of these debts by yourself again and getting yourself trapped here. I know you were unhappy before, you didn't exactly make a big secret about it." Tomik sighed, continuing to lead the way. "I want to help you, but I also think you have what it takes to help the Syndicate in your own, unique way, if you were to just see your position as more than just an unfortunate accident. So, I did a little bit of digging, and I think I've come up with a solution that benefits us all: you me, the Orzhov Syndicate, and... well, you'll see."

"See _what?_ " Kaya asked, refusing to let up until she was given the complete explanation.

"I promise it's nothing too horrible, I just don't want you getting cold feet before we get there..."

"Well, consider my feet frostbitten." Kaya said with a stubborn huff as she completely stopped in her tracks. She caught sight of blades glinting as a few of the guards that lined the hall adjusted their grip on their weapons, as if they expected there to be some kind of struggle. It was a reaction that caused her hand closest to one of her daggers to twitch. "Tell me what's going on, Tomik. What did you arrange while I was gone? Why do we need such tight security, or are they here to keep me from leaving?"

"Kaya, don't make this difficult-"

"I can and I will! I've gone through hell and back to return to this gods-forsaken place, so I'd appreciate if it didn't feel like I was walking into a trap!" She continued.

"Excuse me." A calm, cold voice sliced through their heated conversation like one of the blades carried by the soldiers. Kaya whirled around, coming face to face with a young woman with features so sharp and striking that they managed to send a shiver right up her spine. Her eyes were cold and narrow, seeming to absorb more light than they reflected. Something undetectable inside them triggered Kaya's fight-or-flight response, as her fingers found the familiar hilt of one of her weapons. Despite the girl's eerie presence, she wore the typical uniform of a servant, like the many others who worked within Orzhova, only making things more confusing instead of settling Kaya's nerves.

"Where did you come from?" She asked with a gasp.

"Forgive me, I've been told I'm a little too good at being quiet, I didn't mean to frighten you." The girl apologized with a slight bow of her head and nothing more, not even closing her eyes as she kept them fixed on Kaya. "I was merely told to make sure you made it to the library."

"By who?"

"Oh, by my Mistress, of course- the one who officiated this meeting." The servant girl said, pressing her finger gently against her bottom lip. "I do very much apologize for her entourage, if my Mistress had things her way, she wouldn't need half of these guards. It was the guild's decision to have such beefy security for such an important visit."

"The guild's decision..." Kaya parroted before turning in the direction of the library and hastily returning to heading in that direction, pushing passed Tomik as she did so.

"Kaya, wait!" He demanded rushing after her. However, Kaya was faster, arriving at the grand double doors first and throwing them open, producing a loud, labored creak from the hinges.

"Ah, so good of you to join us."

There, sitting a the table nearest the door, cup of tea in one hand and saucer in the other, was Teysa Karlov, receiving them with a smile that held about as much warmth as a blizzard.

"I take it the guild meeting went well? Oh, and please try not to mind the guards, you know how the Syndicate is: extravagant in all that they do, even when it comes to security."

"What are you doing here?" Kaya was on high alert, as if anything she did or said would be used against her- and it honestly could, she knew how the other woman operated. Even as she simply sat and drank her tea, she could just as easily be scheming just below the surface. "What do you want?"

"Oh, me? I want a lot of things, but don't we all? What maters right now, though, is actually what _you_ want, Guildmaster Kaya." Teysa said with a slight smirk from over her tea cup.

"And what do you think that I want?" Kaya glared back at her, refusing to step even a foot more into the library. However, she could see three contracts filled from edge to fine-pressed edge with words that would be too small to read, even up close.

"Simple: you want freedom, a desire that I, too, can sympathize with. This guild and the debts it has collected will trap you on this plane if you simply take them back, and as a being who has access to an infinite number of different worlds, that must be absolutely suffocating." She paused to take another short sip of her tea, finishing off the cup. Immediately, the servant girl from before glided fluidly to her side- having not made a single sound as she entered- to take the cup and saucer before just as quietly whisking herself away. "I have come to help relieve you of that burden, as the savior you may not want, but the one you need- the one this guild needs."

"The same guild that imprisoned you, twice- _that_ guild?" Kaya cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.

"The guild that could emerge from all of this stronger stronger before- if we work together, that is. The legacy of the Orzhov Syndicate has fallen, and it only remains now because this whole city is in utter shambles. I don't doubt your own capabilities, Guildmaster Kaya, but you're also an outsider, set to lead a guild that is ready to turn against you. I wanted things to change, but I also didn't want for the Syndicate to fall entirely." Teysa continued to explain, just as Tomik joined her, huffing and puffing. "Ah, the third and final part of the puzzle finally arrives."

"You're in on this, too?" Kaya asked him.

"'In on this'? Kaya, don't act like this is some sort of horrible plot. I wouldn't have agreed to this if her intentions weren't genuine. I had my doubts in the beginning, just like you, but... she has a point." He panted, slowly straightening himself back up. "I'm your friend, but I'm also apart of the Orzhov Syndicate, and I refuse to see it fall apart. We can keep that all from happening, so long as we work together."

"How?" Her tone made it clear that she was hardly convinced.

"By splitting up those pesky debts, of course." Teysa elaborated as she stood from her chair, her servant girl appearing once again to present her with her cane. "I ask that my portion be small, around twenty percent: enough to actually mean something, but not so much that I'd come anywhere close to holding the majority."

"Out of what's left, I''l take the higher percentage, and act as de facto guildmaster, during times when you can't be present, while you can continue to operate as the guildmaster mostly in name only and get your freedom back." Tomik continued.

"I'll be taking up an advisor role to both him and you, which will grant me my own freedom, so long as I have your blessing." Teysa said, preparing the quill and ink already set up at the table. "I get what I want, you get free use of that pretty little spark of yours again, and the Orzhov Syndicate's future is assured- a win/win/win situation, if you ask me."

"The documents are also air-tight." Tomik added. "I've read, re-read and combed them down to the letter, there's nothing to worry about."

"All we need now is your blood, and your signature." Teysa said, her personal servant appearing once more beside her to offer up the familiar ceremonial kris that her and Tomik had used once before. "Please don't make this difficult, after Tomik and I worked so hard to come to an agreement."

"... _Fine._ " Kaya finally caved with a grumble. "But I'm drawing my own blood, I don't trust you cutting me."

**Teysa Karlov**

"That was quite the show." Teysa looked up from the freshly-signed documents to her personal servant, who joined her at her side and slid the papers apart on the table, her long, slender fingers brushing over the minuscule text. "I almost began to think there would be a fight."

The two of them were alone in the library now, with Tomik having rushed off to meet with his newly-minted fiance and Kaya having a meeting she needed to arrange. Teysa had chosen to linger in the library, forcing the guards outside to wait, if they were even still out there at all. After all, for as little a percentage as it was, she held a bit of power over the Syndicate, now, it would be rather awkward for them to try to haul her back to her tower with that in mind.

"Well, then maybe you don't know how I operate as much as you assume to." Teysa chuckled under her breath. "Kaya going along with our plans was a guarantee from the start, it was just a matter of getting passed all of the dramatics and breaking down those pesky walls of hers. In the end, I knew what she wanted, and just what to say to her, just like I did with Tomik."

"Sorry to have doubted you- it's in my nature to doubt everyone except for myself." The servant girl said with a shrug. "You learn to stop trusting people after a while- makes the inevitable backstabbing that much easier to respond to."

"I certainly hope you're not expecting such things of me- after everything we have planned, we're going to have to work together for quite some time." Teysa smirked. "I very much hate tension among those I truly consider my confidants, and after everything I've promised you I can only hope I have your trust, and your support."

"I trust your _plan;_ you're a smart, capable business woman, and since this relationship will benefit you, as well, of course I trust you to get things done..." The servant girl admitted, and with a toss of her short, black hair, she transformed, one fluid motion morphing her from being the mysterious, cruel beauty in uniform to donning her true form- _his_ true form: Lazav. "But you, Teysa Karlov... as a person, I don't trust you."

"Hmph, I suppose that will just have to do. We're in much too deep to be negotiating the terms of our relationship now." Teysa frowned as she gathered up the papers, pulling them away from the Dimir guildmaster and carefully, gently rolling them up.

"You say much too deep, but your plot has plenty more steps- perhaps, _too_ many." Lazav said doubtfully. "Why drag things out like you have? We can risk cutting down a step or two."

"Being this thorough guarantees that our plans will actually come to fruition. You start circumventing steps, and you risk having the whole thing collapse- trust me, the longer the con, the sweeter the reward." Teysa promised with a sly smile as she looked down at the contracts rolled up in her hands. "And what reward is sweeter than getting to have this whole city under our thumbs?"

"Having one less thumb to compete with." Lazav responded in a cold, calculated voice, earning a raised eyebrow from Teysa, at least.

"Well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it, when you no longer need me- not to say I won't be prepared for the assassin to do as he naturally does, especially by then." She said, her unwavering smile more than enough proof that he hadn't threatened her in the slightest. She stood before the shadowy shapeshifter and boldly stared him down. "You see, Lazav, you aren't the only person in this city who is always thinking one step ahead. Until you can actually surprise me, I guess that makes us partners."

**Kaya**

The wide-open Orzhova entrance hall was, thankfully, empty- and more specifically, clear of anyone clad in armor with their sword completely drawn. Kaya could only imagine such an audience for what she had planned and who she was expecting would wind up becoming problematic and best and absolutely chaotic at worst. The only issue now was that she was absolutely alone, and that Teyo, specifically, had yet to arrive. Impatiently, she looked up at the light streaming in through the stained glass window above, casting streams of color down onto the marble floor below.

Things weren't going to get messy, but if he dragged his feet in getting there before their guest, things were no doubt going to be _awkward._

"Yoo-hoo!" An energetic voice could be heard before the doors leading to the outside were opened, and Kaya's inevitable guest came bounding in, almost like she had sensed she had been thinking about her. Hekara, in a fantastic display of flips and cartwheels, made her way across the entryway to where Kaya was stiffly standing in comparison. "Back from your little vacation, eh?"

"I'd hardly call it a vacation- in fact, I'd rather you _not_ call it that." Kaya sighed, wondering if the rowdy Rakdos performer ever just walked from place to place. If she ever used her legs for anything other than jumping or kicking, Kaya had yet to actually see it.

"Hmm? Well, I have to call it something, since everyone else was so secretive about it. Even Exava, my fellow blood witch in arms, wouldn't tell me where you all went, no matter how much I begged and pleaded- and I am _quite_ good at begging." Hekara drifted in close, so much that Kaya could feel her breath against her cheek. "Speaking of which, why did you summon me? For what do I owe the honor of being called, _by name_ , by the Orzhov guildmaster herself?"

"Whatever you have in mind, it's not for that." Kaya frowned and took a quick step to the side, putting and comfortable arm's distance between them, to which Hekara nonchalantly shrugged.

"You're missing out." She said with a slight smirk and a flirtatious wink that sent a shiver through Kaya's entire body. "If not a little fun, then what? If it's to deliver a message to the big man himself, I'm growing oh-so-very tired of being the middle-witch."

"No, this isn't about Rakdos- you'll be happy to know that you're going to get to be the very center of attention for what I had in mind." Kaya explained. "It's just... you got here faster than I expected- faster than the other half of the party, who was supposed to have been here already."

"Oh, I see, the more the merrier, I see how you operate." Hekara flashed her a knowing grin as she drew in close once again. Kaya, with a sharp frown and an annoyed huff, smacked her on the very top of her head, like she were a misbehaving pet. All of the bells attached to her clothes jingled loudly in surprise.

"I meant what I said before, I didn't call you here for _that_." She grumbled. "I called you here for something special, so please don't ruin it by assuming something lewd."

"Something special..." Hekara repeated before narrowing her eyes and pouting. "And it _isn't_ lewd."

"Good gods, don't have me throw you out before-"

"Sorry we're late!" Teyo popping his head in couldn't have come at a better time, as Kaya happily allowed herself to be cut off with a relieved sigh. "I couldn't just whisk her away just like that, and Boruvo is quite the talker, turns out."

"No, no, it's fine, your timing couldn't have been more impeccable." Kaya assured him.

"Tart boy!" Hakara cheered as she whirled around with a happy jingle. "I thought I'd never see you again! Sorry for leaving you with my... tab... before..." Her words slowed to an absolute crawl before dying completely as Teyo was followed inside by the person he had been sent to retrieve. For a moment, all of the energy and bounce in Hekara's step vanished, leaving her slumped over and gawking.

"H... Hekara?" Rat gasped, standing statue-still in the doorway. "... You... You can see me, too, can't you? Please... tell me you can see me."

For once, Hekara was speechless. Her lips and tongue twitched, but no words or even a noise escaped her.

"Hekara..." Rat's voice quivered in desperation as she took a single, wide step inside. "Hekara, please... I'm right here. My mom, my godfather and even random people on the street can see me now, please tell me you can see me, too!"

"R... Rat..." Hekara finally managed, struggling to speak as she reached up with a shaking hand to cover her mouth. "... My... Rat?"

"You're Rat is home." She said with a wavering smile, her cheeks growing red and eyes clearly holding back tears. "I missed you."

"Rat!" Hekara repeated her name with a crack in her voice as she rushed forward, no flips or superfluous flourish to speak of. In fact, before she even got half way, she was tripped up by one of her own bells jingling away on her feet and fell forward clumsily onto her hands and knees with a gasp. Rat responded similarly as she tore herself away from where she was standing to run to her dear friend's side.

"Hekara! Are you alright!?" She asked frantically, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright!? Am I _alright!?_ " Hekara cried as she reached up and took that very hand, pulling it close to her like it were something incredibly, deeply precious, yanking Rat right along with it. "I can feel you again! I can see you again! This isn't a dream, is it!? If I suddenly wake up, and you're not here I... I..."

Without a word, Rat reached out and pinched Hekara's cheek, hard enough to make the blood witch stop mid-sentence and flinch.

"This is real, Hekara... I'm real!" She said. "And I'm not going anywhere."

"That... that _hurt_..." Hekara muttered in shock before leaping nimbly to her feet, scooping up Rat into her arms in the process. She squealed in delight as Hekara joyously laughed and quickly took to spinning, swinging Rat around in circles before bringing her in for a tight, needy embrace. Rat, not bothered by the rough affection in the slightest, squeezed her back. "Pinch me again! Pinch me again!"

"No way!"

"Fair enough!"

Both girl's laughed as Hekara finally, maybe a little reluctantly, set Rat down, looking like she was braced to just scoop her right back up again.

"That's not all, though! Watch this, your Rat has a whole new trick up her sleeve!" She announced before suddenly vanishing. Hekara reacted in surprise, looking incredibly unsure. Kaya, as well, had to blink and rub her eyes just to be certain, but there was no denying that Rat had disappeared completely. A brief tension filled the room as Hekara began to start looking around in clear distress, before Rat appeared just as suddenly as she had left, now on her opposite side. "Here I am!"

"Rat, what are you-?" Hekara began, spinning around just as Rat mysteriously vanished again. She reacted with a surprised jump this time, before spinning in a small circle, the bells on her outfit jangling frantically. "Hey!"

"Now I'm here!" Rat declared, popping up behind her and giving her shoulder a tap. However, just like before, by the time she had turned around to see her, Rat had disappeared once more.

" _Rat!_ " Hekara groaned, a rumble of frustration in her voice.

"And now, I'm here!" This time, Rat appeared, having somehow climbed onto Hekara's shoulders without her noticing, who buckled slightly under her weight and swayed, nearly causing the young girl to slide off and fall to the floor. "Now I can turn it off and on like a light-switch! What used to be a curse is now mine to control, isn't that great!"

"It is, so long as you warn a girl, first!" Hekara grunted before bending herself impressively all the way back and depositing Rat onto the ground, flipping over her and landing nimbly onto her feet, now behind her friend who was lying in a heap on the floor. Placing her hands on her hips she leaned over her, bathing her in her shadow. "I don't like it when I can't see you, y'know?"

"I know, I know- trust me, I get it." Rat assured her as she rose back to her feet and dusted herself off. "That being said, it sure is tempting to use this to sneak up on you. Can you imagine, all of the pranks I can pull off now? I'm already making plans, but maybe I should run them by Mistress Kaya for legality's sake-"

As much as she was expected to indulge Rat in her plans of becoming Ravnica's biggest menace, Hekara shut her up with another hug, this one much more gentle than the first, but pulled her in just as close.

"Heh, right. Another time, then." She chuckled before returning her friend's embrace. For once, Rat was totally quiet, and Hekara stood completely still.

"So this is what you were setting up, huh?" Teyo chuckled as he and Kaya hung back. "I'm sure Rat will say it enough but... thanks. I feel she deserved it, after everything she wound up getting dragged through."

"They _both_ deserve it." Kaya said with a nod before stifling what would have been a more than impressive yawn that still left her eyes watering despite being held at bay.

"And, looks like you deserve a nap." He added.

"More like a hibernation- but, I can't sleep just yet, unfortunately." Kaya sighed, giving her arms a stretch that eventually worked its way downward, pulling each and every one of her tired muscles back into action.

"Guild stuff?"

"No, thankfully it's personal. Just one last thing that I feel I need to take care of." She corrected him with a relieved smile

"Which is?" Teyo asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, nothing that will keep me away for too long." She said with a casual shrug. "Just paying a visit to a ghost."

**Vraska**

It should have come as no surprise that the old, familiar bookstore was still in ruins. It felt like she had been gone for years, and the work that had pilled up waiting for her sure drove home that feeling, but only a few short days had passed. In reality, things still needed to be fixed and re-built. Entire buildings couldn't be re-structured in a few days, especially in an area like this, which probably wasn't of any concern to any of the guilds who were spearheading the rebuilding effort. Things like bookstores, coffee shops, unimportant structures that were only important to a few... not to mention relationships.

Vraska held back a sigh, refusing to give herself to the melancholy that had been building in her chest ever since the mounting stress of facing down the Living Guildpact and feeding him nothing but empty lies had subsided. She should have gone straight to Jace's side, who was finally getting is wounds taken care of, but instead she had stayed away. In the chaos of dealing with Tezzeret and forming a plan to convince the council of a job well done, there hadn't been much time for the two of them to talk and patch things up. There had been apologies, of course, but a few "I'm sorry"s could only heal so much, like putting a simple bandage over a stab wound.

Facing Jace after what they had said and what she had almost, nearly done in her anger... in the end, it had been easier to wander back to the ruined street where their date had meant to have been after a whole long, dragging day's worth of negotiations and paperwork was finally behind her. She stood in silence, with nothing to keep her company but her own, meandering thoughts that kept on looping back around to Jace.

Maybe he needed a little healing from her as well, on top of his other wounds. Maybe they both needed time to heal. Vraska swallowed those possabilities down like an extremely bitter pill, despite how much she didn't really want to.

"Heh, I had a hunch I'd find you hanging around here." A familiar voice laughed from behind her- a voice that made her heart both ache and sing to hear. "If the captain's not at the helm, she's probably off visiting old haunts, I figured."

"Jace, what are you doing walking around!? You need to rest!" She insisted sternly as she turned around, immediately having to turn away from looking directly at his smile. "Do you have amnesia again? Did you forget you were stabbed?"

"I think I recall you suffered something similar, and here you are." He pointed out.

"I've been running around all day- you'd be surprised, even as the former Living Guildpact, just how much politics pile up in only a few days." She sighed. "Coming here is honestly comparable to rest at this point."

"And I wanted to see you- sooner, much rather than later." He said, drawing closer as she turned her back to him. She heard his steps stutter to a stop, seeming to pick up on her hesitation. "... Is everything alright?"

"I... I don't know. I'm honestly really not used to relationships like ours as a whole, but especially how to handle things after, well, what happened between us." She admitted, unsure exactly how to express her vulnerability. Even to Jace, who had seen parts of her that no being in the multiverse had, it was difficult to talk about things like feelings and moments of weakness. She always wanted to be strong and in control of things: the captain of her own life, so to speak. "Where do things go after 'I'm sorry'? Where does that leave us?"

"Vraska-"

"I don't want this to be the end, but I'm... afraid. You're going to keep seeing the ugly side of me, again and again." She continued on, all the while unsure of where exactly she was going. Did she want to run into his arms, or pull away? "Am I even worth the trouble, Jace?"

"You're worth all of that and more!" Jace exclaimed, sounding close to being furious. But, as she turned around to face him again, the look in his eyes couldn't have been more determined and sincere, and it drew her in and kept her from turning away a second time. "There are no ugly sides to you, Vraska, not the way I see it. And, even if there are, I'd accept them, because, well... you accepted me, and my apology, and all of my mistakes. I've seen ugly, Vraska, I've experienced it first hand, and that's not what I see when I'm with you, regardless of what 'side' you show."

"Jace, I..." Vraska's voice wavered, naturally holding herself back. Something inside her judged the words she wanted to say harshly, and demanded she keep them to herself. That was what Queen Vraska would do- what Captain Vraska would do... but, with Jace, she was someone else entirely: Just Vraska. What would 'Just Vraska' do? "... I-I want to make this work!"

"I do, too." Jace nodded as he ever-so-gently took her hand. It was warm, and the palm of his hand was surprisingly rough, she noted. She couldn't help but drink him in, down to the very last detail, and embrace every last bit. "But, that's going to come with a lot of missteps and mistakes- you're not the only person new to this. Right now, we may be just like this entire district, nothing but rubble and ruin, but if we put enough work in, we can always pick up the pieces and rebuild. It's only the end if we let it be."

"I don't want it to be..." Vraska said with a shake of her head, reaching out to take his other hand as she looked deep into his eyes. It never occurred to her just how soothing it was to have someone who could look her in the eyes like he did, without once flinching or nervously looking away. He looked into her eyes like they couldn't petrify him in a mere instant. "I'm willing to keep sailing into the unknown with you."

"I'm going to make a lot of mistakes, I'm sure we both are..." He faltered slightly. "Maybe not like I did recently, I can accept now that your secrets are yours and yours alone to share, and no matter how much I love you, there are things that aren't any of my business... But I'm probably going to keep making other, little mistakes for a really long time."

"That's perfectly alright with me, Jace." She said, his name lingering on her lips and leaving her smiling. "I'm honestly look forward to it.

**XXXXX XXX**

Crows had replaced the horde of zombies that had once shambled around her former family home. Construction had been halted completely, where it had originally been going on in earnest, leaving her with a wooden skeleton of a structure without a roof that was now being used as one big, massive perch for a new cast of unwelcome black buzzards. Perhaps it was best to simply leave the place to them, to give up and move on to someplace else- but where?

"You can't keep up this aimlessness forever, Liliana." The voice of the Raven Man could be heard, right behind her as always. "You can still hear them, can't you? The Veil may no longer have a hold over you, but the Onakke are still very much in that empty little head of yours. If you continue this way, without a purpose, they will manipulate you, just like everyone else has."

"And just like you're trying to do now?" She asked, keeping her back turned to him. She didn't want to see him- in fact she didn't want to hear him, either, but if she couldn't control that, at least she would take full advantage of what she could. "Just because I'm not letting you steer me in whatever direction you want doesn't mean I'm aimless. This is freedom- from my bonds, from my debts and from everything you could possibly use to bend me to your will. You're not looking out for me, you're just looking out for yourself and your own plans."

"Listen to me, Liliana-"

"No, you listen to me!" She snapped. "I'm not the same girl who you could use so freely! I'm not that same scared, desperate girl who met in the woods hundreds of years ago! I'm not the woman who was willing gave up her freedom for youth and power anymore! I'm not the fool motivated by greed and the monster who surrounded herself with pawns and called them friends! I'm none of those things anymore, as much as you want me to be, so that I can turn to you when things don't do my way!"

Finally, she turned to him, hatred burning like an inferno in her eyes that glowed a violent violet hue that pieced through the gloom around them. She spoke to him through her bared teeth and a disgusted frown, as every last ounce of her power was poured into venomous words.

"I'm not Liliana Vess, not anymore." She snarled. She didn't have to raise her voice, there was enough power in her words to shake the structure they stood upon. The murder of crows that were their audience all at once took to the air, rightfully spooked by the furious aura that practically poisoned the air- an aura that resonated from both her and the Raven Man respectively. At first, all she could see were black feathers, and all she could hear were the chaotic flapping of hundreds of wings and shrill calls of the birds. It might as well have been night with how much of her vision was consumed by darkness.

A break in the flock revealed something however that stood out among the beaks and wings that shook her to her core. The look the Raven Man managed to give her, that she saw for only a moment, was nothing short of terrifying, and it gripped her like a tight hand upon her throat. It wasn't the look a mere man could give, and instead he glared back at her with the face of what he truly was: a monster.

In a flash he was gone, him and his flock, leaving her standing alone among a collection of inky feathers that danced about in the passing breeze. She stood still a moment, watching as the crows disappeared, one by one, high above the low-hanging clouds. It was hardly what she would consider cold, but she still couldn't help but shiver.

"Good riddance..." She said, trying to play off her shivering as being nothing at all to nobody in particular as she returned to her thoughts. Gazing down at a puddle that had collected on the unpolished wooden floor from a passing rainstorm, she caught her reflection that looked back at her as if to say, "well? Now what are we going to do?" Her's was a reflection she was more than familiar with, but somehow, at the same time, it felt as if she was staring down at a different person.

"If you're not Liliana Vess..." She muttered to herself. "... Then who _are_ you?"

The sound of footsteps drew her from her pondering, and a ripple in the pool of water broke up her once clear reflection as she pulled herself away to gruffly meet her guest- luckily, not the Raven Man and his chilling expression she'd seen only moments before, but another familiar face.

"Kaya?" She gave the other woman a suspicious look. "What are you doing here? Don't tell me your little plan to lie to those fools back on Ravnica didn't work. I already told you I wasn't coming back with you-"

"No, no, it's not that!" Kaya cut her off, earning an irritated glower. "It's not Gatewatch business either, before you ask."

"Then what is it- unless you felt like coming back here because you were hoping to try and annoy me one last time." She groaned. "It will be the last thing you ever hope to do, if that's the case."

"I think that's more of Rat's territory." Kaya joked. "I'm just here because... I want to offer you something: a chance for a fresh start. You're more than welcome to turn it down, just hear me out before you do, please."

"Hmmm..." She thoughtfully mumbled to herself as she turned back to her reflection, still warped by the disturbed puddle. Liliana Vess probably wouldn't hear whatever strange deal this near-complete stranger had to offer, but now...

"Go on. I'm listening."


	13. Chapter 13

**The End of the Beginning**

**Tezzeret**

The harsh, frozen mountains of Kaldheim were not exactly known as a place even locals would frequent, with the unyielding snow and inhospitable terrain making for a difficult place to travel to and through- but for Tezzeret, that was completely the point. He had plenty of places scattered all throughout the multiverse meant solely for hiding, and this was the last resort of his last resorts: a tiny shack tucked within the icy rock, a good, solid storm away from being reduced to ruins. More importantly, though, it was the last place people would come looking.

He wasn't sure if he should be furious or feel relieved as he looked down at his chest once more, a hole left behind where both Liliana and Vraska had driven in the blade meant to seal his fate. The familiar, subtle burning sensation of the planar bridge was gone, remaining as nothing but a dead weight inside him, taking up space. Even _he_ had expected the thing to explode and decimate him under the conditions it had been put under, but luck, regardless of how rotten, had been on his side. The dagger had been driven into just the right spot, killing the planar bridge instead of him. The final artifact left behind by Nicol Bolas' scheme was now nothing but scrap.

Tezzeret snarled, holding back a slew of rage-filled curses as he threw another paltry chunk of wood- pulled from off of his own withering hiding place- into the small, crackling fire he gazed into. The bridge, his fortess back on Esper, the prototype Immortal Sun- a small number of losses in comparison to the many grand schemes he had planned while serving under Bolas, but still, one loss was a loss too many. Loss meant failure, and failure meant weakness in his plans, in his creations and in himself, and after years of being reduced to nothing but a egotistical dragon's puppet, he was tired of being made to feel weak.

A sound caught his attention, breaking through the howling wind and the constant white noise of snow pelting against the outside walls: a single foot crunching in the fresh, frozen powder. There hadn't been any before, and there were no further sounds of a second foot touching down into the cold drifts. Tezzeret tensed, silencing even his own breathing as he listened over the wailing gusts and the snapping and hissing of half-dried wood burning.

The exact moment a second figure appeared in the hideout without a sight or sound to announce their arrival, Tezzeret dove to the side, narrowly dodging a violent force that tore through the fire he had built, reducing it to ashes and bathing the two of them in darkness. He remained on the move, zig-zagging in the shadows as attack after attack was launched at him, each one doing more damage to the structure that protected them from the snow and wind, and each time, his attacker grew more and more angry. Grunts and screams of effort accompanied each attack that sliced deep gashes in the walls, before finally opening a gaping hole in the structure where a harsh streak of pale, white light cut through the shade.

His attacker gasped, covering their eyes for only a split second, but that was all Tezzeret needed as he scooped up the smoldering remains of charcoal left behind by the demolished fire, ignoring as it burned into the sensitive flash of his one, remaining hand. Boldly, he ran up to his assailant, and tossed the still-burning chunks of wood and ash into their face, causing them to gasp in surprise and in pain. Taking no time to revel in their misery, he balled his throbbing hand into a fist and drove a solid, devastating punch into their gut, before taking them by the wrist and hurling them over his shoulder and onto the floor, forcing them to relinquish the blade held tight in their hands with a vicious twist as he did so.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Tezzeret grunted as he straightened up, examining the raw, red skin of his palm before returning to staring down his attacker. "Did you really think I wouldn't be expecting you?"

The Wanderer coughed and moaned in agony as she rolled onto her stomach, slowly, unsteadily picking herself up. Her wide-brimmed hat no longer hid her face, leaving only a partially destroyed mask to shield her true identity, with a single, bloodshot eye glaring back at him through stands of her long, white hair.

"Where is it!?" She snapped.

"You'll have to be more specific than that." Tezzeret said with a slight, mocking smirk.

"You _know_ what I'm talking about!" She responded with a harsh growl in her voice as she stood to as full of a height as she could, gripping where Tezzeret had struck her. "You promised me the spirit gem! We had a deal!"

"I believe the deal was that you would kill them, and judging by your poor state, I can guess you couldn't even do that." He specified dismissively. "Even if I could give you what I owe, I wouldn't- not for a job half-done."

" _Bastard!_ " She cursed, her single, visible eye narrowing.

"Of course, that doesn't mean we are without options. Continue to serve under me and I can more than promise that I can help to reverse what was done to you. The things you were forced to give up, and the curses you were forced to take on-" Tezzeret began to offer before The Wanderer cut him off with a sharp, and not to mention angry-sounding, laugh.

"Are you really trying to strike another deal with me, looking like you do, reduced to hiding with your tail between your legs!?" She asked between peels of laughter. "The fact you convinced me to work with you again even once is enough to make me want to vomit, there isn't going to be a third time! I'm not the easily-manipulated woman you once knew, Tezzeret." She spat out his name like it was poison left behind on her tongue.

"You're hardly in a much better state yourself." He pointed out critically.

"But, I'll be much better off ridding myself of you! You forget, my body may be different, but it still bears the scars you left me with, I'd much rather take on a thousand more curses than continue to work under you." She snarled. "Consider yourself on your own from here, now that you have nothing of value to offer me."

"You're nothing without me!" He said in a warning tone. "Look what you've become trying to make it on your own, you're hardly even in control of your own spark. You need someone to reign you in, before your reduced to nothing but matter floating in the Blind Eternities."

"You're right." The Wanderer spoke simply, but with a strong voice that filled every inch of the room and mingled with the howling wind. "I _am_ nothing- hardly more than the smoke and ash left behind from who I used to be." She paused, eyeing him with a piercing stare that robbed him of a single breath and leaving him to swear he felt his heart stop beating for a single, lingering second.

"But, I'd rather be that than be chained down to you again."

With those last few words spoken, The Wanderer disappeared, leaving Tezzeret to stand in the steam of white light, a dissatisfied frown pulling drastically at his lips. He glared at the space she had once occupied as if she were still there, as he clenched his hand into a tight fist, disregarding the pain, as well as the blood that seeped through the cracks in his fingers.

"This isn't over..." He muttered through clenched teeth. "When I'm through, I'll make you _wish_ you were nothing but ash."

**Jace Beleren**

"Sorry this took me so long."

Jace rested a single stone on the very top of the cairn, left behind just outside the city of Akros, beneath a grand, healthy oak tree that stuck out like a sore thumb in the field it towered over, just like Chandra had said. He had selected a large stone, one that would both rest solidly atop the pile and not disturb the other stones beneath- something fitting of Gideon, he felt.

"Things came up, I'm still not sure if I made quite the right call, since it _did_ lead to me getting stabbed and all..." He mused, as if he were talking to Gideon himself. With a shrug of his shoulders, Jace released a single, tiny sigh and shook his head. "But, I didn't come here to make excuses, and you wouldn't want to hear them anyway, would you? I'm here now, that's all that should matter."

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves that crowded the branches overhead, as if they were responding to him in Gideon's stead.

"I can't promise I'll be a leader like you were. I don't think I'll ever be able to be like you, as difficult as that is to accept. I'm messy, in more ways than one, I'm not as kind or openly trusting, or as strong. The Gatewatch is going to be a very different group without you to take the reigns and lead..." Jace paused, looking up at the strong tree Nissa had grown, catching glimpses of the clear, blue sky through its branches. Despite his words, he cracked a reassuring smile. "But, different or not, the Gatewatch will remain. No matter where the future takes us, I feel our oaths are stronger than ever. Even if you're no longer here, we'll continue to watch over the multiverse you gave your life to save- that I can promise."

Jace closed his eyes, keeping tears at bay as he felt sunlight drift down from between the tangle of branches and settle onto his shoulders. How fitting, he thought, that Gideon's strong hands had felt as warm and as comforting as the sun.

Something fluttered passed his cheek, catching his attention and forcing him to open his eyes and divert his attention elsewhere: to a single moth fluttering by, incredibly close to his face. Very quickly, he noticed others, all seeming to take to flitting to and fro around him instead of continuing on, with a few taking short rests upon the cairn. Following one of the tiny, winged insects with his eyes, he traced its path over his shoulder before noticing something more concerning than the odd behavior of the moths: he wasn't alone in the field.

Expecting the company of a confused Theros native, Jace turned around and found something completely different instead: an incredibly young girl, hardly more than a child, but with eyes so wise it made him doubt himself. They read him in an instant, understanding him body and soul without so much as an introduction. A pale-white shape of a skull was painted upon her exposed forehead, standing out against her black skin, along with her piercing gaze. A veil fashioned from what appeared to be a fishing net covered her head and billowed out around her, with the rest of her form of dress looking unfamiliar, most likely from a plane that Jace had yet to visit. Indeed, this small girl wasn't from Theros at all, but was like him, hailing from somewhere else far beyond.

"We finally meet, Jace Beleren." She spoke, her child-like voice and her words not quite matching.

"I-I'm sorry... do I know you?" Jace asked, unable to keep from feeling unnerved by the young stranger. "Or, were you a friend of Gideon's?"

"Hmm, I could have been, if I had made such a decision. There's a chance I could have gotten to know him before he died- so many chances, actually." The girl mused as she turned her attention to a moth that gently landed on her outstretched finger. "That being the case, you and I don't know each other yet, either. I could have waited, but, given the circumstances, I don't think I could have held back that long. I wanted to meet you... so much, I felt that I _needed_ to."

"I don't think I follow- who are you?" Jace questioned, unable to hide his suspicious tone.

"My name is Aminatou, and who I am isn't important. Honestly, I don't think I could give you an answer- I still haven't decided, after all." She said with a slight smile. "What is important, however, is _you_."

" _Me?_ " Jace gawked, pointing up at himself. "What makes _me_ so important?"

"Well, maybe not you as a person, it's more specifically your secrets that left me with no choice but to decide to come and meet you sooner than fate originally intended." Aminatou specified as she drew closer, wading through the tall grass that brushed up to her shoulders.

"What do you mean secrets- and fate, for that matter?" Jace continued to pry

"I don't think I could define fate in a way that you could understand, or at least in a way that would satisfy you." She said with a shake of her head. "But, as far as secrets go, there's so many, I don't even know where to start. The true nature of Emrakul's imprisonment, Nicol Bolas' perceived death, Liliana Vess being left alive- I could go on, those are only some of the most recent, but there are so many more kept locked away in that complex vault that is your head. The things you hide from the world are a lot more dire than you think they are, Jace Beleren."

"H-How... are you a mind reader!?" He gasped, surprised from hearing this total stranger of a child list off things he was sure only he and very few other people knew about, as if they were all common knowledge.

"No, your thoughts are safe from me, you don't have to worry about that. What should worry you, though, are the threads of fate connected to each and every one of your secrets. You carry a weight larger than I think you realize." Aminatou said, circling around him to stand beside the cairn, disturbing the moths that had landed upon the stones as she ran her fingers along the surface.

"Hey, don't touch that!" Jace shouted as he turned around.

"The loss of Gideon Jura is only the beginning. If you continue to keep silent, you are set to lose so much more than that." She warned him, her voice growing serious enough to send a paralyzing shiver up his spine. The look she hit him with made his blood run cold. "Fate can be changed, even by someone like you. It won't be easy, and it won't be painless, but for the sake of the multiverse, sometimes meddling with fate is necessary- and you have all the tools to do so, hidden away inside your head."

"I can't... People are better off not knowing the things I know." He refused, the very thought of sharing even one of the secrets he kept bringing with it a wave of crippling anxiety. "You wouldn't understand."

"I understand more than you think I do, Jace Beleren. Do you think I've been lying all this time, or were you even listening? Don't discount the things I say just because I'm a child." She frowned, appearing almost angry with him. "If you wish to truly protect the multiverse, you'll heed my warning. Otherwise..." She paused and, with a flick of her wrist, knocked several of the stones that made of the cairn loose, sending them tumbling to the ground. "... Fate will have its way with you."

"Stop! What are you doing!?" Jace snapped, reaching out to grab her by the arm, only for her to vanish in a suffocating cloud of moths. He stumbled backward, swatting at the swarm of furiously beating, tiny wings until they had dissipated, leaving him disheveled and panting. He stood,now alone under the oak tree once again, with nothing but the partially-destroyed cairn to keep him company.

"What the hell...?" He muttered under his breath before dropping down to carefully, one-by-one, pick up each and every stone, handling them as if they were precious treasures as he arranged them to how they had been before. Much to his dissatisfaction, something about the cairn seemed lopsided and unfixable. What bothered him even more, though, was that Aminatou's words rang clear in his mind, and in his heart, no matter how much he wanted to ignore them.

"It's fine... right?" He said as he looked down at the cairn, obviously getting no response in return. Not even a passing breeze answered him, leaving him to stand in uncomfortable silence for a few more moments before he shook his head and planeswalked away.

As much as he wanted to ruminate over what the young, mysterious girl had said, he had other pressing matters that needed taking care of.

* * *

Jace arrived back on Ravnica, specifically on Tin Street, nearest Precinct Six, right in the middle of a bustling crowd. It was still a new and incredibly odd concept for him, after years of keeping his life as a planeswalker a secret, to be able to pop up wherever he needed to be without a second thought. Hardly a passerby turned to look at him, casually acknowledging his sudden appearance enough to shuffle around him and nothing more. They'd all bore witness to much stranger things than the former Living Guildpact materializing in the middle of the street. Jace hated to consider that Nicol Bolas had brought about anything good, but he had to admit, the acceptance of planeswalkers on Ravnica was a more than welcome change.

Hoping he wasn't too late, he navigated his way through the throngs of people, most of whom appeared to be crews of workers who had recently begun to appear en masse to repair their broken city. Several guilds had even begun to back major restoration projects, the most surprising of which being the Golgari, whose focus was particularly on impoverished areas that had been affected during Bolas' invasion. Perhaps things would return to normal one day, and the regular chaos of guild politics would resume, rising from the ashes just as it always did, but for now everyone seemed to agree on the same thing for once: to fix what had been broken.

A familiar face caught Jace's attention as he waded through the sea of bodies, and despite his hurry, he couldn't help but call out to them, mostly because they had seen him, too. Either way, he was going to be stopped, regardless of how in a hurry he looked.

"Rat!" He said with a wave, which she matched with much wilder enthusiasm. It was clear she was still getting used to existing in a world that could see her now, seeming almost surprised when people either stopped for her, or quickly got out of her way, followed by flurries of "excuse me"s that sounded a little too happy.

"Mister Beleren!" She shouted over the noise of the crowd as she met him. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"I could say the same." Jace nodded as he looked down at the hefty looking bag she held in her hands, the contents hidden by a seal that closed up the bag tight. "Doing shopping for Kaya?"

"Oh, this? No, this is just some fungus killer- really potent stuff- that I got for-" Rat suddenly cut herself off, tightly shutting her lips before opening them again after her eyes darted from side to side nervously. "- Things. Y'know, _stuff_."

"Stuff, huh?" Jace chuckled, wondering just how bad the problem could be if even the most talkative person he had ever met couldn't even bring herself to breath a word about it. Regardless, though, he chose not to pry, figuring she'd wind up telling him about it sooner or later- as he had learned thus far, nothing was really, truly a secret when it came to Rat. "Sounds... serious."

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm actually in a _serious_ hurry!" She added. "The fresher this stuff is, the better it works, so I need to get a move on- I just wanted to say hi."

"Ah, well good luck with your... mold problem." Jace said, feeling a twinge of guilt mixing with the relief that Rat, for once, didn't have time to stop and talk his ear off.

"Yeah, and good luck with your date!" Rat smirked, giving him a friendly wink.

"Hey, how did you-"

"I saw Queen Vraska waiting around back that way." She specified with a point. "She looked like she was waiting for someone, and I was more than positive it was for you."

"Wait, she's already waiting!?" Jace gasped, snapping his head in the direction she had pointed. "Krokt, was I gone that long?"

"I'd hurry up if I were you, lover boy, she looked like she was getting pretty impatient." Rat chuckled, sending him off with that instead of a proper goodbye as she hurried back into the throng and melding into the flow of foot traffic. Jace, on the other hand, rushed in the opposite direction, feeling like he was struggling against a current with how clogged the streets were.

After what felt like an eternity of pushing and shoving, he finally made it to the usual coffee shop- not Vraska's preferred place, which was still in the process of being rebuilt, but where the two of them had compromised to meet whenever she was spared a free moment long enough to sit back an enjoy a drink. It wasn't the perfect location, but it was suitable enough to return to, time and again.

For once, Vraska wasn't flanked by her usual entourage of assistants and servants, and instead stood alone, craning her head from side to side as she unsubtly searched the crowd for him. Several people caught her gaze and instinctively backed off, weary of the Golgari Queen who was clearly looking for someone.

Jace couldn't help but pause for just a moment, making sure to keep himself unseen as he drank her in from a far. Today she wore the clothes more suited to her second life as a pirate captain instead of a piece from her selection of gowns. As beautiful as she looked in her usual clothes, she looked stunning like this, so much that Jace had to recompose himself before running through the crowd to meet her. He was certain his cheeks were still very much flushed, but at this point he was certain there was nothing he could do to fix that. The evidence of his incredibly obvious swooning wouldn't completely vanish for a while, anyway.

"There you are!" Vraska sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "You're the one who set up when we were going to meet, and yet here you are, dragging your feet."

"Sorry, I guess I lingered on Theros for a little longer than I had expected." He apologized, his gaze traveling down to the two bags sitting up against the wall beside her. "... You packed?"

"Of course I did, because I figured you wouldn't- I know you like to travel light but I prefer to be a little more prepared." She said as she picked up one of the bags from off the ground and thrust it into Jace's arms. He buckled slightly under the unexpected weight, but dared not let it drop from his hands.

"I'm still honestly surprised you found the time to get away in the first place, I figured we'd have to push back these plans another several months." He remarked through his obvious strain.

"And potentially force you to visit your home plane all by yourself? No thank you, you'd be surprised what I can do when I'm motivated enough- and when you have the right kind of paperwork." She said with a proud smile, before adding under her breath, "I need to remember to thank Ral and Tomik for that..."

"Thanks, it honestly means a lot that you could come." Jace sighed. "I've hardly been able to sleep I was so nervous- I'm still not quite sure what we're going to find."

"Nothing too horrible, I hope." Vraska gave a nervous laugh before reaching out and taking his hand once his pack was situated onto his back. "Regardless, though, I'm going to be right there with you, no matter what happens."

"And if we have to cut things short in an emergency...?" Jace asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, there's always Ixalan. I know a certain crew of pirates who wouldn't mind if we happened to stop by- and especially if you actually bothered to show your face." Vraska offered. "Not that I'm saying it's a must, though, just something to keep in mind."

"Its tempting, but let's just focus on Vryn for now." Jace laughed, giving her suggestion legitimate consideration and wondering if the rowdy crew of The Belligerent would take to the real him as much as they had when he had lost his memories.

"Lead the way, then, lets not waste any more time." Vraska insisted, while giving Jace's hand a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back, feeling a warm feeling slowly overpower the nerves that were fluttering in his chest, both over returning home for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, and over what Aminatou had said. In that moment, all that mattered was Vraska's smile.

"Aye, aye, Captain."

**Ral Zarek**

The skyline of Precinct Three was drastically different without Vitu-Ghazi where it would have normally been- yet another drastic change that was going to take some getting used to. Now that weeks had passed since Ral had returned from "assassinating" Dovin Baan, and the general exhaustion left behind by Nicol Bolas' invasion had passed, one after another it felt like the people of Ravnica were faced with a near endless list of things that were different now that they had to adjust to. Thankfully, they had done so without much resistance- but, in Precinct Three especially, there was a noticeable bitterness to the very obvious change. Everywhere he went, as he passed through the hustle and bustle of The Great Concourse, even after over a month had passed, it was still a sensitive piece of gossip.

"Ral, hurry up! We have a lot of ground to cover." Tomik's voice pulled him from his thoughts as his fiance pulled him along through the crowd, diverting his attention away from the awkwardly-empty skyline.

"Haven't we covered enough ground already?" Ral asked with a tired groan. "I swear, it's like you're taking us on a tour of the entire city instead of scoping out wedding venues."

"If I have to scour every last inch of this plane, so be it," Tomik huffed. "I know you'd rather just hold it in the first intact building we could rent out, but a wedding ceremony isn't just a thing you get done and over with as fast as you can- at least not to me. So long as I make up one half of this relationship, I say we keep looking until we find a place that's positively perfect!"

"You know, for a guy who still holds 50 percent of the total debts of the entire Orzhove Syndicate, the amount of energy you've been putting into this still astounds me." Ral commented with a chuckle.

"It gets a little easier with each passing day- and it certainly beats shouldering every single one. Compared to that, 50 percent is nothing." Tomik said with a proud smile

"Well, the holder of 30 percent of the Orzhov Syndicate debts would like to motion for a break, please!" Kaya, who caught up with the couple's speed-walk, sighed. It was a sight to behold as the woman, dressed head to toe in her garb normally meant for official guild-centric events, hunched over with her hands on her knees. Guildmasters, from Ral's firsthand experience, had a duty to at least act the part in public, to save face for both themselves and the guild they represented. But, Kaya saw no point in outward appearances, acting as casually as she always did, regardless. Ral wasn't sure if her attitude was refreshing, or if it made in inwardly cringe more.

"We just have a few more stops... at least for this precinct, anyway." Tomik attempted to motivate her, but she only groaned as she straightened up.

"And we've been at this since the crack of dawn. I know we need to fit in as much wedding planning for you two as possible on our free time, but there's a point where things start to get excessive, and I'm pretty sure we left that behind in a completely different precinct." She complained. "Don't you two have other friends who you could bring along to help?"

"Hey, you're the one who agreed to be our best woman- I haven't exactly tangled with marriage much myself, but I'm pretty sure helping with the wedding planning comes with the territory." Ral said with a slight smirk.

"Plus, it only makes sense that the both of us do our business together, as de-facto guildmaster, and guildmaster in name- this _is_ a marriage between guildmasters, after all. There's a lot more riding on this than just vows." Tomik pointed out. "It puts the public at ease to see you approve of our union."

"Well, if this is about keeping up good PR, why haven't you also dragged Teysa along for the ride?" Kaya asked as she folded her arms.

"Trust me, she would complain a thousand times more than you." Tomik laughed. "Best to simplify things where we can."

"If you could only say that about your endless list of wedding venues." Ral commented.

"Trust me, when we hold our wedding ceremony in the absolute perfect location, you'll be thanking me even after the honeymoon." Tomik assured him with a confident smile. "Now, let's hurry up before we miss out next appoint-"

Before he could finish, Tomik roughly bumped shoulders with someone passing by, nearly falling over in the process if Ral hadn't immediately rushed to catch him. There was a rush of confusion accompanied by the sight of a large bouquet of vibrant wildflowers nearly falling and littering the concourse walkway.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't see over the flowers, and- _oh!_ " Much to Ral's surprise, it was Teyo who strained himself to poke his head from over the overstuffed bouquet. Stray petals were in his hair and all over his clothes, but he was much too busy to realize the mess. "That's a relief, at least I didn't wind up nearly taking out a couple of complete strangers!"

"Teyo!" Kaya exclaimed, happy to come across a familiar face and possibly for their break from Tomik's near-constant quest to find the ideal wedding location being extended all the more. "I figured you and Rat would have already left by now."

"Rat's errand took a little longer than she thought, so I figured I'd pick up a little something myself." Teyo explained, motioning toward his arm-full of vivid blooms. "There were so many, I couldn't decide which ones to get."

"Not exactly a bright future in flower arranging, huh?" Ral heard Tomik joke quietly to himself.

"So, who are the flowers for? Are you trying to impress a special someone?" Ral playfully pried, getting a mild sense of amusement as Teyo easily blushed at the comment. It was always entertaining that he was so very easy to tease when most people Ral surrounded himself with were normally so serious or incredibly unflappable.

"Nobody! No special someones here!" He blurted out. "Nothing like that at all!"

"So... a special some _thing?_ " Ral continued, not through with pressing the boy's buttons.

"I-I just wanted to brighten things up, that's all!" Teyo finally managed to explain through his blushing and stammering. "I should really get going, Rat's probably waiting for me at this point."

"Give my regards to- er, to Rat." Kaya added, noticeably stumbling, flashing an awkward look in Ral and Tomik's direction. Ral took note of it, but chose to say nothing as Tomik began to impatiently tap his foot in a way that was meant to be seen.

"We should get a move-on, too. A lot of boring old buildings to walk around in and all." He said as he reached out and took Tomik's hand. He clicked his tongue, but regarded his comment with a slight smile and a quick roll of his eyes.

"I swear, if we had things your way, you would have had the ceremony the day you returned, wouldn't you?" He said with an exhausted sigh of his own.

"Hey, the sooner I can start calling you my husband, the better." Ral grinned. "But, for you, I guess I'm willing to make a few compromises."

"Compromises like adding a dozen more on-location visits, maybe?" Tomik suggested, to which Ral gave him a gentle nudge. The two of them exchanged smiles as Tomik adjusted his glasses and a chuckle escaped Rals lips as he looked into the eyes of his husband-to-be. If they weren't in public, right in the way of the flow of traffic, he would have leaned in a given him a kiss, but Ral managed to reign himself in- for the time being, at least.

"Yeah, don't push your luck."

**Chandra Nalaar**

Mornings on Zendikar were always beautiful: a healing world slowly being lit by a near-constantly perfect sunrise. She wasn't as connected to the plane as Nissa was, but over time, Chandra swore she could feel the plane itself waking up, yawning and stretching from its slumber along with her, ready for yet another day and whatever wild adventures it would bring. This morning, however, was different, the early calm mixed with a slight hint of melancholy that Chandra did her best to ignore. She was going to shove it into the back of her mind until she no longer could as she tried to savor what was going to be her final morning on Zendikar for what looked to be a while.

No matter how much she wanted desperately to stay- for months, for years, possibly even forever- her duties as a member of the Gatewatch couldn't be ignored any longer.

The sun had hardly even begun to rise, its coming foretold by the soft pink and gentle blue that chased away the night sky and all of its stars. For the first time in a while, Chandra had risen before first light, making the trek to where everything first began: the formation of the Gatewatch, the wild, amazing and not to mention terrifying adventures they became swept up into, and most importantly, her formation of feelings for Nissa. Deep into the scar that had been cut into the plane, where Kozilek and Ulamag had been destroyed, she traveled with solemn reverence, holding the hand of her dear companion who accompanied her, but saying nothing. Neither of them, it seemed, could summon a single word that would feel right in the current moment.

"There it is." Nissa spoke softly as she pointed out their destination, where the glyph she had left behind still glowed. During the day, Chandra could only imagine it would be impossible to see beneath all the foliage that had sprung up all around it. It wasn't enough to blanket the place which had been the Eldrazi's final stand, but it was clear that this place, just like the rest of the plane, was on its way to healing quite nicely.

Chandra paused to kneel down, quickly taking off her boots and discarding them before rushing out ahead of Nissa onto the soft grass that blanketed the ground. She embraced the sensation against her bare feet, drinking in as much as she could as she hopped and clumsily pirouetted, spinning around to spy Nissa, still standing where she had left her. She smiled back at her, but seemed unsure, clearly feeling the effects of the soon-to-be departure.

"Come on." She laughed, stretching her arm out wide and beckoning her to come closer. Nissa's expression wavered a bit, giving away her uncertainty, but nonetheless she finally ventured out onto the grass, speeding up little by little until she was able to reach out and take Chandra's awaiting hand, who pulled her even closer.

"Oh..." A soft exclamation escaped her, but she offered up no resistance.

Chandra gazed into her vivid green eyes, catching the first few glimpses of sunlight inside of them. She reached up, resting a hand against her cheek with a careful gentleness that she responded more than positively to. Her eyes fluttered closed as she nuzzled against her touch, resting her hand on top of her's.

"I'm sorry..." The words fell out of Chandra's mouth after she'd been thinking them all night and into the early morning.

"Don't say that." Nissa muttered, her eyes still closed.

"I know you don't want me to leave."

"But I also know you have to." Nissa insisted, opening her eyes to stare Chandra down. Her voice was strong and sure, but Chandra could see the flash of vulnerability swimming in the deep pools of endless green. "I can't keep you here, I can't keep your brilliance all to myself forever. I can't stifle a flame that wants to burn so badly."

"Hey, I mean, you could always tag along- things are a little different now, but you are still apart of the Gatewatch, and now, more than ever, there are things we need to do." Chandra offered. "I, for one, know that Saheeli requested our presence back on Kaladesh for some big, secret project she's working on, and the door is always open."

"I-I don't... I mean, I'd love to but-" Nissa stammered, uncertainty heavy in her voice.

"I won't force you, don't worry. I know how much you want to reconnect with Zendikar- we both have things we need to do." Chandra reassured her, letting her go and instead drawing closer to what she could make out as the glyph, its subtle emerald glow slowly being overpowered by the sunlight. "At least, whenever I feel like things are getting to be too much, I'll know where to find you."

"...Its strange, coming back here after everything that's happened... after everything we've lost." Nissa remarked as she joined her at her side, looking out over the horizon. "I almost feel like a totally different person now, and I can't help but wonder... if that's a good thing. If I had chosen to stay that day, after we became the Gatewatch, after I took my oath... would I have been better off?"

"But then, I wouldn't have gotten to truly know you." Chandra said with a slight gasp. "Back then, I felt a connection- back then you were just Nissa to me, but now... despite the few hiccups and stumbles, after nearly crashing and burning, I get to know you as the woman I love. To me, that's a good thing- a perfect thing, a _beautiful_ thing!"

"Chandra-"

"I'll gladly suffer through a thousand wars if it means I can look you in the eyes and say, Nissa... I love you." She continued, emotions flowing free as her eyes grew watery- not from sadness, however, but from the feelings of affection and adoration that filled her to the point of overflowing. "No matter who we wind up becoming, no matter how much change we endure, it will be worth it so long as I can keep on saying those words and meaning them."

"I love you, too, Chandra." Nissa smiled with unshakable tenderness as she reached out and wiped away a tear that had begun to streak down Chandra's cheek, before taking a short step backward. "But, given where we are, I feel that something like this might be more fitting..."

"Something like... what?" Chandra asked with a slight sniffle. Nissa, however, offered up no real explanation and raised her hand, eyeing her with a look so serious, Chandra straightened up without thinking.

"My soul may belong to Zendikar, but my heart belongs to you. No matter what happens from here, no matter what the future holds, for as long as Zendikar thrives, for as long as I breath, I will always love you." Her words echoed an oath, but it meant so much more: an oath for her and her alone. It was a shame, then, that Chandra couldn't quite come up with something as meaningful and heartfelt on the spot. Even more tears welled up in her eyes and drained her of anything she could have said in response. Actions, thankfully, spoke just as loud as words.

Chandra leaped forward, wrapping her arms around her and drawing her into a firm, loving embrace. She leaned in, breathing in the scent of nature that clung to her: flowers, morning dew, soil and sunshine. Restraining herself from sobbing even more, she drew even closer to give Nissa's lips a quick, gentle peck to gauge her reaction, taking the surprised smile as permission to give her a second, much deeper, longer kiss. She could just barely taste the flavor of berries they had eaten the night before that lingered on the velvety softness around her mouth. Only when her lungs demanded air did she pull away, leaving the both of them panting, but more importantly smiling and laughing, as they held one another.

After several dozen kisses and even more "I love you"s, the sun was now almost completely over the horizon, leaving Chandra's final vision of Zendikar, and of Nissa, perfectly lit. There were no need for goodbyes, or any words of parting for that matter. This wasn't goodbye, not by a long shot. In fact, no matter where Chandra's adventures took her, they wouldn't be far apart at all.

"Nissa!" Chandra called out after she scooped up her boots. She perked up, waiting for what she had to say. However, instead, Chandra simply smiled and pointed to her heart, giving her beloved a knowing nod.

With a smile that outshone the rising sun, Nissa rested her hand over her own heart in response, not needing to say a single thing more before Chandra finally planeswalked away.

**Ana Iora**

Her new home wasn't exactly her first choice- Nine Hells, it wouldn't have been her second, third, fourth or even fifth choice, but in the end it really hadn't been her choice at all. Kaya had chosen the location: the plane of Fiora, specifically the Lowlands of Paliano where she had more than a few connections. Rat, who somehow had come into possession of a confusing amount of diamonds, had set the price, and the other boy, Teyo had been... there, at least. After everything, Ana hardly had even a single say in the matter, but at least the place was finished, unlike a certain location back on Dominaria that had been left as a wooden skeleton, half rotting, with no roof.

Finished, though, was about as good of a compliment as she could give. It was an old apartment that had been left abandoned atop a row of shops that looked well on their way to being abandoned as well- which was probably why they were so desperate to rent out the place to her. It had been advertised as being "pre-furnished" but a lot of what was there could hardly even be considered furniture, and the first thing Ana did at all was get rid of it before what was living in the couches or eating away at the wooden tables and chairs could start chewing on her in the middle of the night. The place was covered in a thick layer of dust that needed more than just a quick sweep in order to get rid of it at that point. It smelled, probably from mold growing somewhere she couldn't see. She was starting to have a hunch the place was haunted, and that the former tenants had been murdered, leaving behind a grudge of sorts.

But, in the end, for better or for worse, for the time being at least, this run down apartment was her new home- _Ana Iora's_ new home.

With a cough and a wheeze, she threw open one of the windows that needed to be practically punched before they gave, creaking on their hinges as a cloud of dust was sent flying free out into the street. Ana pulled down the meager fabric she had tied around her face to keep the years, maybe even decades, of grime from choking her before she could get her work done. Her clothes, that had looked rough when she had bought them brand new (or so the shop-keeper had said) were now almost totally different colors from how filthy she had gotten trying to clean the place up a bit on her own. With the nearly spoiled rag she had been using the clean with, she attempted to clear the air so that she could finally take an actual, substantial breath.

Once things finally settled, and it was certain that she had escaped death by dust inhalation, she took a moment to rest, leaning her elbows on the windowsill as she peered up the street. From there she could see the High City looming overhead, a place where she wished she belonged. Maybe, in another life she would have, as someone else with another name, but Ana Iora, the woman with only a brand-new name and a run down apartment to call her own, fit in a little better among the common folk of the common folk. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes, picking up the sound of someone playing a violin, just barely managing to produce a mediocre tune. The passing breeze blew by, whipping through her freshly-cut hair, the ends of which tickled her neck and just barely brushed against her shoulders.

_Vessel..._

"Ignore it." She told herself, her eyes still closed.

_Return to us, vessel..._

"Ana Iora is no one's vessel." She grumbled, face scrunching up slightly as she frowned.

The flapping of wings was what finally caught her attention and forced her to open her eyes. Her heart pounded against her chest as she gasped, expecting to see the horrible face of the Raven Man peering back at her. Wrenching herself away from the windowsill, however, the sight of a single crow, perched on a tree branch that stretched right up to the window, greeted her. It stared at her, examining her with its coal-black eyes as it cocked its head. Ana stared right back, taking in a deep breath to sooth herself, despite the fact that it was almost completely filled with dust.

"...I'm not afraid of you." She said in a low whisper. "You don't control me anymore, and neither does the Veil. I'm my own person, and you'll never have me."

The crow, almost as if to respond, opened its beak and lowly cawed with a voice high pitched and grating.

"Get out of here! Shoo!" Ana snapped as she flapped her rag hard in the bird's direction. With an irritated look, and a frantic flap of its wings, the crow leaped off of its perch and flew away, leaving Ana alone once more.

_You will be ours one day, vessel..._

"We'll see about that." Ana huffed, a nervous quiver in her voice that made her frustrated to hear. Squeezing her eyes shut she took another long, deep breath, holding it until the voices faded out into nothing, swept away by the breeze and the distant screech of the distant violin.

"Mistress Ana!" A voice called her name from outside, becoming the one last distraction she needed to snap out of her trance. She rushed to the window, eyeing the two people below with an annoyed frown and a furrowed brow.

"I told you to just call me Ana!" She yelled. "I'm nobody's 'mistress', so cut that out!"

"No can do, Mistress Ana! You have that title written aaaaall over you, even when it looks like you've been rolling around in dirt!" Rat called back up to her, unphased by her annoyance- like always. "And, is that dust in your hair, or are you just finally starting to look your age!?"

"Hush, unless you want me to pull out your tongue to use as an extra rag!" Ana threatened. "It took you long enough to get here. You promised you'd get here hours ago, I've been trying to clean this place up by myself!"

"Sorry, I had to pick up a few things!" Rat apologized. "But hey, at least I brought the muscle!" She nodded back towards Teyo who was, bizarrely, holding a large bouquet of various flowers that looked like they'd been through unspeakable torture on their trip through the Blind Eternities. He gave her a wave, but Ana ignored it, looking back behind him, over his shoulder and up the cobbled street.

"Um... what are you looking at?" He asked, looking behind him as well.

"Oh, nothing, just trying to find the 'muscle'!" She said, holding her hand up over her eyes as she continued to mock-search.

"Hey!" Teyo gasped, his words almost drowned completely out by Rat's laughter. "Rat, not you, too!"

"But you gotta admit, it was a good joke!" She said with a shrug, nudging him in the ribs. "You just gotta work on your comebacks- bet they didn't teach you those in that stuffy old desert monastery."

"Well, better late than never, I guess- hurry up and get up here before I choke on all this dust and die!" Ana shouted, pulling herself back inside as she looked to the empty branch outside her window one last time.

Even though she had started a new life, with a new name and a new group of friends, things were far from over. The ghost of Liliana Vess would continue to haunt her, as Ana Iora went about her days in her place, and there was no doubt that, one day, maybe even sooner than she hoped, she'd have to find a way to truly exorcise her and everything that clung to her. But, at least for now, all she had to worry about was filthy grit, and a possible infestation. At least for now, she would start small.

Hearing Teyo and Rat coming up the stairs, filling her apartment with the sound of voices and laughter, Ana turned away from the window, and tied the protective cloth back around her face. Privately, she thanked the multiverse for the little distractions, the annoying chatter of Rat's, and the half-ruined bundle of flowers in Teyo's arms. And, wherever he was in the great beyond, in whatever afterlife, Ana hoped that Kytheon was watching, and hoped that he was proud of the person she was only just starting to become.


End file.
